Oh Brother!
by Gottahavemyncis
Summary: Brothers are brothers wherever they are, related by blood or by choice. Meet the elusive Geordie as the McGee-Gibbs clan struggle to support each other through danger and heartbreak. Third story in the At What Price 'verse. Warning: deals with sexual abuse although not graphic.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Throughout this story, _italics_ are used to display private thoughts, a flashback or to emphasize a word. My hope is that each use is clear within the context of the story.

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Oh Brother!

Chapter One

Geordie

Geordie laughed at the ridiculous amount of mail he was handed. _How long had he been away from base on this op anyway? _ Ignoring the junk, he shuffled through the letters, finding many from his brothers and sister, _huh, way more than usual_. He also found one with a return address of an LJ Gibbs, one from a Jackson Gibbs, one from a P. Langston and 3 others with a J. Hubbard or a M. Hubbard in the right corner. _What the heck was going on?_ _Oh God, wasn't Gibbs Tim's boss's last name? _His heart froze for a brief moment but started beating again when he clutched the last letter in the pile, another one with Tim's handwriting, the postal date after the ones from LJ Gibbs, who lived in Virginia and more likely to be Tim's boss than the Gibbs in Pennsylvania. Lastly he found an official looking one, bearing the name of a court in Virginia.

Putting that one aside, along with the ones from the Gibbses and the other strangers, he went back to sorting through the letters from his siblings. Tim had formed the habit of numbering his letters, knowing Geordie usually received all of them at once and looking at the backs of the envelopes now, he was relieved to see his younger brother had continued his routine. Picking up the stack from Robbie, he saw the same thing and smiled when he saw the ones from Sarah. Always wanting to be different, even just a little bit, she had used the alphabet for hers.

Gathering it all up, he headed for his hut, made coffee, got comfortable and started reading. Although he had threatened an unpleasant death to any who interrupted him today as he hadn't had any leave in nearly eight weeks, his CO apparently thought he was exempt from that threat and stopped in for a chat. When Geordie seemed distracted, very unusual for his focused Lieutenant, he asked and the young officer held up the pile of letters. "Those all from Tim, Sarah and Rob?" After enough missions together, the small squad knew the names of each other's family members. "Most of them. At least one is from Tim's boss and there's a bunch from complete strangers."

"So…"

"So I'm reading through Tim's letters, trying to find the one that will tell me what the heck is going on."

"I'm sure he's got it specially marked, Gord, you always say he's a genius."

"Yeah, Cap, you're right, I'll go back through."

"Ok, this can wait; you are officially on 96 hours leave, after all." Rather than deny it and cave into whatever Cap wanted him to do as he usually did, Geordie just thanked his CO as he left the small hut, then went back to reading. He'd known of Tim's growing feelings for his co-worker Ziva, and now was happy to learn she'd been brought back from Israel, although still as a Mossad officer. He wondered if she would know any of the Mossad operatives he'd worked with and then shook his head, he was more tired than he thought if he was thinking of actually asking her that. He huffed as he went on to the next letter. Oh, they'd moved in together, good for Tim. Geordie put the letter down, thinking about his little brother, who stood two inches taller than him and was the head of the family. They'd been through a lot of tough times together and Tim deserved, hell they all deserved long and happy lives. He remembered the first time he'd met Tim.

_Geordie was at the bus station, one of his best places for scavenging and donations. Everyone here was on their way someplace and most of them didn't have all that much themselves, but they were more likely to give something to a kid than people with more money who usually just sneered and sometimes hit or even spat. He knew, he'd hitchhiked out to the airport once and had found it a huge disappointment, plus it had taken him two days to get back. He was hungry now; he hadn't eaten since that nice lady had given him half of her sandwich and an orange early that morning. He'd found some pennies on the bench and had quickly scooped them up. There were six of them, added to the fourteen he'd found elsewhere, he had twenty cents. He had hoped he'd find or be given more. He made another circuit of the waiting room, noticing the kid with big black boots on his legs sitting with a little girl, almost but not quite a baby. He figured they were waiting for someone and skittered past, smiling at the kid. Maybe when they got picked up by their family, the kid would give him something. They were dressed nicely, not rich but not poor either. They had two suitcases with them, the next time he wandered by he took a look at the address tag but the writing was too small. The little girl was chattering and climbing around on the bench, no wonder the kid looked tired. He wondered why he wore those ugly boots. A little while later he was back in the waiting room and saw the two sharing a sandwich. His mouth watered and he tried to smile as he watched them eat. The kid looked up and seeing the hungry look on his face; tore his half sandwich in half and gave it to him. Geordie immediately tore it in half again and tucked the little piece away for later. The kid had a soda and now he offered it to Geordie, who took it gratefully, then took off as another bus was coming in. The next time he came by, a quarter richer from a nice lady, the kid was struggling to stand up as the little girl squirmed like she had to…oh. "Timmy, I hab to gooooo!" Suddenly Geordie knew this kid, this Timmy, was in trouble. He didn't know what trouble, but he looked like he could use a hand with the little girl. He headed over as the kid had his sister climb on his back, then he rose from the bench and dragged the two cases along, trying to move his legs in those boots. Geez! _

_He skidded to a stop, "Need some help?" _

_"Gotta get my sister to the bathroom." _

_"Ok, it's this way, here." He didn't try to take the cases or touch either the kid or the little sister; the kid seemed relieved to have someone at least show him the way to the bathroom. When he went into the men's room with him, he wasn't sure if he was freaking the kid out more or what. The little girl, Sarah was her name, did her thing, leaving the stall door open and Geordie carefully looked away. Afterward, her brother lifted her up to the sink to wash her hands. Looking at the kid Timmy in the mirror, Geordie saw that his green eyes were tired and he looked lost and hurt. Geordie knew how that felt. Remembering his father on his good days, teaching him about honor and service, he decided to help these two if he could. "My name's Geordie Perry." _

_"I'm Tim McGee and this is my little sister Sarah. Say hi, Sarah." _

_The little girl looked up at him, giving him a big smile and he lost his heart. When he asked who they were waiting for, Tim told him for his stepmother's cousins, but they had been waiting all day and there had been nobody looking for two children. He had asked the man in the ticket office a few times but the last time the man had looked at him funny, so he thought he wouldn't ask him again. _

_Geordie nodded, that guy wasn't really mean, but he was a rule follower and if he saw Tim and Sarah around much longer, he'd probably call CPS. He said the name out, Child Protection Services and he saw Tim didn't like that idea. Geordie had a thought, then, that might help, "I stay about three blocks from here. You could stay there overnight and then come back tomorrow. That guy," he pointed to the man in the office, "won't be here tomorrow 'coz it's Sunday." _

_"Will there be room there for both of us?" _

_"Yeah, you can stay with Juanita tonight; she takes care of all the first-timer kids by themselves. Maybe the cousins got the day wrong or somethin'." _

_"Ok, it's almost seven so I guess they're not coming today." _

_"Do you want me to carry Sarah on my shoulders or I could help you with the cases." Tim looked at him for a long time and Geordie forced himself not to fidget. Finally the kid said, "If you could carry Sarah, I can handle the cases." _

_But he couldn't, his legs were too wobbly and he walked like that monster Geordie had seen in a movie once…Frankenstein. _

_"What happened to your legs, are they always like that?" _

_Tim glared at the sidewalk as he struggled to move. "No, I was in a car wreck and they were broken, kind of smashed up. These are supposed to be walking casts, but they don't work very well." He stopped and leaned against a building and Geordie looked at him. He knew the kid was younger than him, Geordie was twelve, but he couldn't figure out how much younger the new kid was._

_"How old are you Tim?" _

_"Nine." _

_"Sarah?" _

_"She's three." _

_"Huh, well I'm twelve. I have another idea, better…we'll go to the camp, but it's still nearly three blocks, that's too far for your mashed up legs." _

_"Yeah." _

_"Ok, look, see in that doorway there?" _

_Tim peered into the shadows and saw…a shopping cart? "The shopping cart?" _

_"Yeah, I'm gonna get that and put you and your cases in it? Then Sarah can walk or maybe she'll fit in the cart."_

_"Ok." _

_Geordie pulled the cart out and looked around. Three kids, no one was paying any attention to them. Tim climbed up on a step and then into the cart. Sarah climbed like a little monkey on top of her brother and then Geordie carefully put the two cases in the cart, standing them up. The cart was kind of heavy, but Geordie was strong and pushed it along to the transient camp without much trouble. He brought them to Juanita who growled at him but smiled at little Sarah. She told them they'd have to share a sleeping bag as she only had one extra. Tim smiled at her and said he had one in his suitcase. Geordie left, telling them what tent he was in and that he'd be by tomorrow to help them get back to the bus station if they wanted. He looked back as he walked away and saw Tim watching after him, looking a little scared. He smiled back at the kid and Tim smiled back, there that was better. _

Geordie shook his head, who knew they'd grow up to be brothers? His decision to help young Timmy that day had been one of the best he'd ever made. He'd been on his own for two years by the time he met Tim, after his dad had finally succumbed to his alcohol addiction. He got by ok, he was always hungry and he knew he needed clothes, but he was alive and nobody bothered him. He was doing well in school and planned to join the Marines when he was old enough. Just like his dad, only Geordie wouldn't drink or do drugs. To join the Marines, he needed to finish high school or so his dad had always told him.

Putting his memories away for now, U.S. Marine Lieutenant Geordie Perry picked up the letter he'd been reading and finishing it, tucked it away. He never threw his letters out until he got home for a visit. That way he could re-read them on the flights home and have everything fresh in his mind. Still a little worried about having a letter from Tim's boss, Geordie chose Tim's last letter to read first. He felt like laughing and crying when he opened it. It was very brief; Tim had probably written it at work. It started "Dear Geo" which was an old nickname and just seeing that told him things were ok. Tim wrote that Gibbs had mentioned he'd mailed Geordie a letter and Tim didn't want Geordie to see it and panic, thinking something was wrong with him. Tim was fine, Rob and Sarah were fine, Ziva was fine, there was nothing for Geordie to worry about, just get his butt home, he'd been away far too long as, Tim added "you haven't been home since Jesus was a Corporal." Geordie did laugh now, huffing out his worry. Trust Tim to make sure he knew all was well. Ok, now he could go back to the start. He had read Tim's first letter, now he'd read Rob's and then Sarah's; then go to the next one. Although he alternated between Rob and Sarah in letter-reading order, he always read Tim's letter first so he could catch any 'vibe' going on in the family. Sarah was sometimes overly dramatic and Rob didn't like to worry him. Tim understood his need to be part of the family even when he couldn't be there and would let him know what was going on. Just as he had with his 'don't worry about Gibbs' letter' note.

As Geordie picked up the next letter, he caught sight of the mound of laundry waiting for him. Sighing, he tucked the next few letters in his pocket, stuffed his laundry in a bag and headed over to their laundry facilities. He read two letters during a wash load and got caught up on what Tim was able to tell him about the hounding by those stupid jerks the FBI and then the news that knocked his socks off, Tim's paternity. He had his notepad with him to jot items down he wanted to mention when he wrote, so now he wrote Tim a quick note letting him know he'd gotten all their letters and he was excited about their 'new' dad – and that he appreciated Tim's last letter. While his first load of clean clothes was drying, he popped into their small office, asked for an envelope, addressed it and sent it out in the day's dispatch. Since they were Special Forces, electronic communication was forbidden while out in the field as they were now. Most of the time, they lived a rather old-fashioned, very basic and very stealthy life in between their missions. Geordie noticed his CO was in the office and on their sat phone, so he ducked back out to the laundry before he was noticed. Now he knew why he had so many letters from complete strangers, they must be part of the McGee/Gibbs clan. He continued with his siblings' letters, saving the 'new family' ones for later.

Tim pulled the mail out of their mailbox and grinned when he saw Geordie's scrawl on a weather-beaten envelope. Opening it, he saw the quick note with a longer P.S. that his brother was doing laundry and working his way through their letters and would write more later. Walking back inside, he shared the note with Ziva and then sent Rob and Sarah texts that they'd had a note from Geordie. Hearing from their brother truly was a "red letter" day for them. They just wished they could see him more often. Or ever.

Rob

After helping one of his patients back into bed after a walk, Rob read his text from Tim and was happy they'd heard from Geordie. He decided now was a good time for his break, he could give Tim a call. His current job had him working in various parts of the hospital where he hoped to do his internship. As an aide, he kept his eyes open and learned a great deal about what goes on in a hospital, not only the patients, but staff as well. He'd already seen some practices he knew he would not be using and others that he'd jotted down as excellent ideas. Mostly though, he was too busy to think and on his breaks he studied. He studied morning, noon and night following the dream he'd had since he was a little kid, to become a doctor. As he eased into a chair in the break room, he remembered the Christmas he'd gotten the doctor's kit.

_They were in their tent and Timpa was wiping his face, neck, arms and hands clean. Sarah was waiting; she had to be done last because she always got dirty again. Timpa had found a red sweater for him at the thrift store, it had taken his big brother all year to find the money to pay for it but he did and Robbie got to wear it today. He was five years old, in first grade and today they were going to get their present from Santa. He started to wiggle. "Hold still, Robbie, I'm almost done. You want to be clean and shiny for Santa Claus, don't you?" _

_"Yeth Timmy, I'll be good." _

_Sarah laughed, "You're always good, Robbie." _

_"Am not." _

_"Are too!"_

_"Ok, both of you, stop or no one gets to see Santa or get a present." _

_"Thorry, Timmy." Timpa patted him on the head and Robbie knew his big brother wasn't really mad at him. He looked at Sarah who was a year older than him and never let him forget it. She stuck her tongue out at him but he just closed his eyes, thinking of what he wanted from Santa. He liked surprises, good surprises, so he thought of a few things he'd like. _

_Then he thought of something. "Timmy, ith Geordie coming with uth today?" Robbie groaned, his baby teeth were falling out but his new teeth weren't in yet so he sounded like a baby all the time. "Thupid teeth." _

_Tim gave him a last dab and looked at the youngest in the family. "Your teeth will come in, Robbie; everyone has to go through it." _

_"Did you?" _

_"Yes, I did and I probably sounded just like you." _

_"Really?" _

_"Yep really, big guy. Now go sit on the bed while I tackle little Miss Stuck out Tongue." _

_Robbie and Sarah both giggled at Timmy's name for her. She wanted a present, so she decided to be good for awhile. She stuck her face up for her brother to wash, although she really didn't think she was that dirty. Once her face, neck, hands and arms were clean, Tim turned, still holding onto her. "Look Sarah, I found your socks that you got last year." _

_"I don't want them, Timmy." _

_"But Sarah, they have little reindeer on them, remember the story I told you about Rudolph?" She nodded. "Look, if you press this reindeer's nose, it lights up, just like Rudolph." _

_She whispered, "But someone else wore them before." _

_Timmy swallowed, "Yeah Sweetie, they did, we don't have money for new stuff. But remember last year, Ruth at the store gave them to you as her Christmas present, Sarah. I bet she'd be really happy to see you wear them again." Sarah loved Ruth, so she smiled and nodded and her brother helped her with the socks. _

_Shoes went on last and then Tim brushed their hair – and his own – again. "Geordie won't be going with for presents today but Miss Lu said he can join us for dinner at the shelter tonight, isn't that nice?" Rob and Sarah nodded, over the summer they'd gotten used to having Geo, their nickname for him, around more while they were living in their hidey holes. He'd helped them find food and helped Tim with his healing wound. _

_They left their tent and walked with their cases the few blocks to the Mission shelter. Rob remembered when they lived there and his mother stayed with them sometimes. She was gone now; he hadn't seen her since before summer, since Timmy got stabbed. Her leaving kind of hurt and he hunched his shoulders. Tim squeezed his hand and Robbie looked up to see his brother smiling at him. Oh yeah, Christmas and Santa, see it sounded right in his head. Stupid teeth. _

_Walking into the shelter, they saw a number of their friends and schoolmates. Tim shooed them toward the kids their age, sitting around a Christmas tree decorated with paper chains and homemade ornaments the children made when a local business donated the materials. Robbie looked back and saw his brother moving_ _their stuff over to where some of his friends sat. Timmy always seemed to know when he was looking for him and now he turned his head and smiled at Sarah and him. Robbie watched where Timmy sat down and then turned around again, feeling secure, knowing his brother was watching out for them as always. He remembered what he'd been taught about God, who he kind of thought was Santa Claus and now he said thank you again that Timmy was all right, the really bad stab and cut was better now. Timmy let him help rub the special stuff on it, the stuff the doctor at the clinic had given them when they'd finally come back to the camp, after they didn't have to hide from the police anymore . _

_He made himself stop thinking of that because it was too scary. He looked up, his eyes wide as Santa came into the room, laughing in his funny 'ho ho ho' way. Oh boy, here comes a present! He'd been a good boy this year; he worked hard at his homework and did his best to help Timmy find bottles and cans so they could eat more. He hadn't even fought with Sarah, well, not that much. He watched as the other kids got their presents, watched them tear the paper and stuff off and find out what they got. Billy McDonald got a little drum, yeah that looked like fun. Tiffany Crusoe got a doll, eww no thanks, but she liked it. Seth Barnes got an action figure; that would be fun too._ _And then it was his turn. He walked up to Santa and remembered to say please and thank you, hoping that would go on next year's list on the 'good' side. He sat down in the circle again, you had to or you didn't get any candy later, and carefully unwrapped his present. It was kind of big and square, not too heavy though and he got more excited as he tried to get all the paper off. Feeling someone behind him, he turned to find his brother. He pulled the last piece of paper and saw a box, like a lunch box, only it had a picture of a man with a thing around his neck like Dr. Kelly at the clinic had. He saw the two pieces of the box that fit together and pushed them apart, but_ _there was tape on them. _

_He turned to Tim and his big brother reached over and took the tape off for him and asked him if he knew what it was. Robbie nodded, "I think it'th a doctor kit, Timmy, 'coz he hath the 'thcope thing around his neck like Doctor Kelly wearth at the clinic." _

_"You're right, Rob, good job little brother." Robbie didn't want to take anything out of the kit now, afraid they would get lost with all the other kids around. He'd wait until they got home to their tent and maybe Timmy would help him, oooh, maybe Timmy could be the sick person. He carefully closed the case and then looked to see what Sarah had gotten. Tim was helping her get through tape when Lu, the nice lady who worked there, came up. "Tim, go back to your group sweetie so you can get your present, I'll help Sarah." Robbie looked up with wide eyes and tapped Sarah on the arm. "Tharah, letth go watch Timmy open hith prethent." She made a face, she still hadn't removed all the tape and Lu was going to help her, but she wanted to see what Timmy got so she nodded, "Ok!" _

_Taking their presents, they ran across the room where they sometimes still had breakfast and wiggled their way in to sit next to their brother. He smiled at them and widened his eyes to show how excited he was to have a present - and the box was pretty big too. Like Robbie, Timpa tore the paper off slowly, finally revealing a cardboard box with a picture of a lantern on it. Timmy's eyes lit up, if this was one of the new wind up LED lanterns, that would be so cool. It was and he hugged it to him. "Now we can read after dark!" The other kids ooh'd and aah'd. Robbie looked at it, "Doeth it need batterieth, Timpa?" _

_"No, Robbie, that's what makes it so special. You just wind it up and it runs for awhile, we'll see how long and then you wind it some more." Robbie nodded, happy his brother got that. They had a flashlight but only used it in 'mergencies because they couldn't afford new batteries. Timmy said there was a way for the sun to make the flashlights work but he didn't know how yet. Timmy was going to be a scientist when he grew up and make things work without batteries or electric. _

_Tim pulled Sarah onto his lap, "Here Sweetie, let me help you with that tape now. I'm sorry I got called away." She looked at him and patted his face, "That's ok, Timpa, it was time for your present. And I like surprises to last a long time." They finally got her package open and found warm "Little Mermaid" slippers and a book called "Little Women". By the time they were four and five, Tim had taught both Sarah and Robbie to read. Sarah loved to read and was as excited by the book as she was by the slippers. "Now I don't have to wear all my socks to bed every night, Timmy! And I can read this book with your lantern!" _

_"That's right, Sissy!" _

_ "And I can operate on you, Timpa – and you Tharah!" Tim took his bits of papers and Sarah's bit of paper and they threw them up in the air, _

_"Yay, Merry Christmas!" Only Robbie's came out "Merry Chrithmath!" _

_Tim whispered in their ears, "You need to go back to your circle, don't forget the candy!" _

_"Ooooh!" Both kids went flying back to their circle, just in time for the little stockings with the candy to be passed out. Tim's age group got candy canes and Tim also got a card from Lu which he decided to open later. Lu was really nice to them; when they'd stayed here, she let Tim help wash up and work in the kitchen in the mornings before school; he got extra food for his little family that way. Now that they'd had to leave the shelter as kids weren't allowed to stay without an adult Lu let them come for showers, laundry and breakfast on the days she worked which were Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. So they were clean four days a week and they had plastic jugs taken from a recycle bin that they filled with water for the other days. Sometimes they could get water and breakfast on the other days but not always and never any showers or laundry. _

Rob was startled out of his reverie by the chime of a page. He shook his head, so much for calling Tim, oh well; he'd probably needed the little rest. Quickly draining the rest of his coffee, something he had in common with their new dad, he tossed the cup and headed back out to the floor.

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A/N: The only information about USMC Special Forces I didn't create for this story are Geordie and his CO's ranks and whatever information there is on the show, if there's anything else that really exists, yay! The rest is creative license, including the references to Special Forces as SPF.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Sarah

Sarah squealed when she got Tim's text saying he'd had a letter from Geordie. She always missed her eldest brother, they were so alike in ways, both of them not caring much what other people thought and being somewhat rebellious. After years of effort by Tim, Sarah had finally started to moderate her rebelliousness and her fiery hot temper, especially after her horrible experience with her murdered ex-boyfriend. Now she quickly called Tim and he read the letter to her. She felt the same sense of relief she had every time they heard from him; Geordie was still out there somewhere. She just wished he'd come home and then she wouldn't have to worry about him for the time he was home.

It was draining sometimes, having two brothers in dangerous jobs. Mostly she tried not to think about it because she'd go crazy if she lost either one of them. She'd already lost Patrick, whom she didn't really remember anymore. Luckily, Tim, trying to deal with his grief, had told them lots of Patrick stories when they were growing up. She thought of her little brother Rob and how he would have a nice safe job as a doctor. Unless he decided to join that "Doctors without Borders" organization that Ducky had told them about! GAH, brothers! She turned back to her newest novel and fueled by her happiness at hearing from Geordie and frustration with her brothers' choices of careers; she added ten thousand more words.

Tim

After a wonderfully private weekend spent with each other, Tim and Ziva geared up to return to work Monday morning. When they arrived it was to find Vance in the bullpen, a sense of barely controlled chaos in the squad room and Gibbs just calling in DiNozzo, Ducky and Jimmy. There had been two explosions at Norfolk with at least three ships involved and an unknown number of personnel. At this point they didn't know whether the explosions were bombs, terrorist attacks or something else. Tim swallowed, hoping his uncle and godfather hadn't been anywhere near; he thought both had been due back at the Pentagon this week for additional meetings. The overnight teams would stay at the office and help man the phones, at least for the morning, while the rest of the DC teams would head to Norfolk, with Gibbs' team taking point. They had their go bags with them, having just restocked them, so they grabbed the rest of their gear, plus Tony's gear and ran after Gibbs. DiNozzo was three minutes out; Gibbs decided to wait for him, he wanted all of his team with him from the start. Ducky and Jimmy would join them there, Vance's executive assistant was using Ducky's contact list to line up possible help for them.

DiNozzo careened into the parking garage, slid into a space, jumped out of the car with his go bag and dove into the backseat of the sedan as Gibbs started to pull away. "Here Boss."

"Good job, DiNozzo." The two boys in the backseat looked at each other and buckled their seat belts, knowing this would be an extra wild ride. That it was; both the ride and the case. They finally returned to DC Saturday morning, having done everything they could on site, but it was late afternoon Sunday before Gibbs sent them home to sleep, with orders not to return until 1000 Monday morning. The rest of the week was spent mostly at the office and in the field chasing down leads, but at the end of that second week they had their answers and a location for their suspects.

They geared up once again, this time taking two teams, four vehicles and approaching the remote cabin from different directions. Since the bombings were a matter of National Security, they had access to many different resources. They had carefully studied the satellite maps of the area, provided by Abby's friend Ashton who had moved from NASA to DHS and noticed the two dirt roads leading to the front and back of the cabin.

The perimeter was hilly and rough terrain, heavily forested but luckily not a lot of brush; there was a gorge on the west side of the property, with a creek running through the bottom of it. There was a wooden bridge running across the gorge, with the drop to the water about 12-15 feet. Beyond the bridge was wilderness, with a mass of trees, hills and valleys. They all fervently hoped to stay far away from that side of the property. There'd been a concern raised about tunnels or underground lairs, but the satellite shots showed nothing below ground.

Now before they made their final approach, they contacted Ashton, now joined by a DHS agent, and he located two heat signatures, one in the cabin, one outside, about 100 yards east. Gibbs swore, the second access road was on the eastern side of the property and it seemed one of the dirtbags was close to blowing their stealth approach. He alerted the agents taking point on that road; the suspect could be planting explosives or even just nails to slow them down. Ashton further reported neither heat signature was moving rapidly so the outside guy must be preparing rather than reacting. They still had the element of surprise.

Ericson, suspect #1 in the cabin, wasn't going down without a fight and cost himself a bullet in his calf before he surrendered. Schneider, the suspect on the loose, proved to be a more difficult capture. He had Tim, Tony and two agents from Carter's team on the prowl now, looking for him. Ashton was providing updates as he could but with so many of them moving around the property it was difficult to pinpoint one heat signature.

Tony swore, quietly under his breath, but impressively. At least Tim was impressed, he hadn't been aware Tony knew that particular language. He looked to his partner and SFA, "Split up, two pairs? Or stay together?"

"Split up, 2 pairs. We're used to working together, know each other's signals, etc. and so do Miller and Eastman, so we'll split by team. Miller, you two take the northwestern side, we'll take the southwest. Code word is daiquiri, backup is fantasy. Got that?" When the other three agents repeated the codes, Tony gave the signal and the two teams headed off.

As Tim and Tony moved stealthily through the trees, they had an update from Ashton, "There's someone moving toward the gorge, he's close to the bridge, will reach it in approximately three minutes. " Tony swore again, they would be the closest to that damn bridge; he'd had a bad feeling about it since they first saw it on the map. Tim felt cold prickles at the back of his neck and swung around, finding nobody but DiNozzo. They took off in a quick walk, trying to remain as quiet as possible. DiNozzo called Gibbs with an update and their position. Gibbs was not at all happy about this but there was nothing he could do at the moment.

Not wanting to miss the suspect, DiNozzo and McGee had now broken out into a run. Coming into a clearing, they saw the suspect with one foot on the bridge. He wasn't hurrying, didn't seem to realize they were close as he ambled across the bridge. Signaling his plan to Tim, Tony knew they had to get this guy before he disappeared into the wilderness. Tim's eyes bugged out, his friend was crazy but there wasn't time and they needed drastic action. They flew across the bridge and Tony took a flying leap onto the suspect's back, tucking his head and torso down as low as he could. The man turned to fight and Tim shot him point blank in the head, leaving his partner safe. However, as he took the shot, he heard a rumble and yelled as the bridge collapsed beneath the three of them.

Rob woke suddenly, his heart pounding, wondering what had caused him to wake up. It was mid-afternoon after he'd worked a double shift. He had expected to sleep for another three hours, minimum. He sat there in bed and listened to the silence, and knew something was wrong. He called Sarah and found she was working but also had stopped, feeling…something. They'd heard from Tim and their uncle earlier in the week; knew NCIS was working the double bombings at Norfolk and that Gibbs' team was lead. Uncle Jim had actually seen Tim at Norfolk but they had both been on the move, so had literally waved in passing.

The siblings knew if something had happened to Geordie it would likely be days or weeks before they heard anything, if they ever heard anything at all. That brought them back to Tim and that seriously frightened them. He had been their rock their entire lives, the only parent either remembered. Still on the phone together, Rob told Sarah he was on his way to her place and she sighed with relief. While she was waiting for him, she sent a text to her uncle, asking if he knew anything. He didn't but told her he'd see what he could find out. Sarah didn't want to wait, she knew she could also have called Ducky or Jimmy, but she wanted to know now, so she called the number Tim had programmed into their phones, the Director of NCIS.

Her call was answered by Ms. Cook, his executive assistant, as the Director was on the line with one of his agents at the scene. When Sarah said her name, blurting out Sarah McGee rather than Sarah Gibbs, Ms. Cook knew that her boss needed to speak with this young woman. She explained that the Director was on another call but would want to speak with her. Sarah agreed to wait and then promptly burst into tears as Robbie walked in the door. Putting the phone on speaker, they held onto each other, the two youngest of the siblings, praying for their brother's life.

When the bridge rumbled and started to collapse, Tony released the dead guy and grabbed one of the railings, which thankfully held. As he pulled himself farther up onto the railing he heard Tim yell and knew his partner had fallen. Hoping that on the way down he had somehow caught onto something that hadn't disintegrated, DiNozzo looked around as much as he could. Nothing. Everything below the two parallel railings had disappeared into the gorge. Unfortunately, Tim must have been taken down with the rest of the bridge. Tony called out for him,

"Tim….TIM….MCGEE…GIBBS JR… Oh PROBIE, Come on Probie, talk to me, tell me you landed on your feet and you are climbing up now. PROOOOOOBBBBBBIIEEE".

He thought he heard a response and his heart pounded, but when he looked up, he saw Miller and Eastman at the head of the former bridge, looking at him in horror. He gave them an update, "Schneider is dead, I jumped him and Tim got in a head shot. Unfortunately, Tim went down with the bridge, I guess three bodies running on the thing were too much. I haven't been able to raise him."

Miller took a deep breath, "We called it in DiNozzo, they're bringing rope and tackle to get down there to get the bodies; I mean Tim and the dead guy. Tim's strong, man, he's got everything to live for, I'm going to believe he's alive and either unconscious or can't be heard right now." Tony nodded, not able to speak over the lump in his throat. They were armed Federal Agents, they knew the odds, had lost friends and colleagues. Apparently none of that meant anything right now, he found himself wanting to fly into the gorge, pick up his best friend, little brother really and wave a magic wand to heal any wounds.

His fantasy was interrupted by the arrival of Gibbs and Carter, his phone to his ear, and one of Carter's agents. Ziva had ridden with Ericson to the hospital; one of the other agents had driven there to meet her as the prisoner's wound would not keep him from being a flight risk. Tony was glad Carter was still here with them, if Gibbs went nuts, he could help.

"TONY, Tony, you ok, what happened?"

"Need rope, Boss, lots of it, the bridge disintegrated and took Tim down into the gorge."

"Have you tried calling to him?"

"No answer Boss."

Carter spoke up, "Vance has ordered a helo with a squad of Marines to get down into the gorge. EMTs, ambulance, Ducky and Jimmy are on their way." When Gibbs' already pale face went a shade paler, Carter hurried to add, "To help Tim, Jethro, and for Schneider's body."

Tony interrupted, "It was a great piece of teamwork, Boss, I tackled Schneider and Tim got a head shot." Gibbs nodded, trying to find some calm so he could help his boy. "Good work, Tony, proud of you, both of you."

Miller and Eastman's eyes nearly bugged out until they received a glare from their boss. So the rumors were true, Gibbs had unleashed his previously doubted human side.

Knowing they couldn't do anything for Tim with the short piece of rope Gibbs had dug out of the trunk of the sedan, they did manage to guide Tony, using all his phys ed training to edge carefully across the railing, the rope attached to his waist, until he reached the boulder the rail was set into and was helped onto solid land. His legs wobbled and he reached out to grab onto Gibbs for balance. As he steadied himself, they heard the thrum of a helo. Appearing above the trees, the pilot took three swoops over the gorge before settling down on the eastern side of the bridge.

The Marine squad and the EMTs climbed out, carrying rescue equipment. The squad leader reported they had spotted two men, one obviously dead with a hole in his forehead and the other their missing agent. When the man reported that Tim's eyes were open and that he had moved his hand and forearm in a waving motion, Gibbs' knees buckled and Tony grabbed him and held on, balancing them both. Rick Carter, standing behind them, put his hand on Jethro's back.

One of the EMTs was a former Marine, still rated on the drop and rappel they would need to do, so he would join the squad and triage and treat Tim before he was moved.

As they prepared for the rescue, the NCIS ME van pulled up and Ducky jumped out, nearly forgetting to stop the van. "Jethro?"

"He's alive, Duck, they said his eyes were open and following them and he was able to move his arm to wave."

"Oh Thank God…Anthony, are you injured?"

"No, Ducky, not at all."

"Good, Jethro, perhaps you had best call Vance. Your daughter and youngest son are there, waiting to hear."

"How…how?"

"I don't know. Jimmy took a call from the Director on our way here to let us know that Sarah and Rob had called in while he was on the phone hearing about the incident."

Gibbs shook his head in wonder, "They're something, those kids."

Carter gave a 'keep it shut, no questions' glare to his team members who had just found out that Gibbs apparently had children. While Vance and the head of HR knew about the newly discovered father and son relationship, very few other people outside the team had been told and remarkably, there were no leaks or rumors. Rick Carter was one who knew, his team did not. Ziva had told Tim she thought the lack of leaks was Tony's doing, that he had somehow found a way to keep at least Abby's mouth shut. Tim had considered the possibility that for once Abby thought silence on the subject was in her best interest. Not only to keep her out of trouble, or more trouble, with Gibbs and Vance, but also to maintain her "favorite" image.

Now the Marines and the EMT quickly made their initial drop and started rappelling down the narrow gorge. They had just about two hours of daylight left and they needed to first secure Tim and get him out and also bring the dead man up, since there would be nothing left if the body was left overnight.

The EMT found Tim fairly alert and in some pain, which was a good sign. He wasn't able to speak but was breathing all right, another good sign. He could move his legs and feet, but was unable to maneuver and the EMT suspected a back injury. The fact that he had movement in all his limbs was reassuring however, and after putting a neck and back brace on him, the Marines acting as the EMT's assistants got a backboard under Tim and got him onto a stretcher. Before they lifted Tim, the EMT took a closer look at Schneider and officially reported him dead. The helo pilot lifted Tim's stretcher, the EMT and two marines out of the gorge, the three men guiding the stretcher. Rather than place him on the ground and then move him again, the helo brought Tim and the EMT all the way up and into the helo, and then landed again.

At DiNozzo and Carter's insistence, Gibbs climbed in the helo with his son. When he sat down next to the stretcher, he reached out and gently touched Tim's face. Tim's eyes had been closed, now he opened them to see his father there with him. His boy managed to lift his hand and signed to him that he loved him and to tell…but the EMT intervened. "Agent McGee, you need to keep still, your boss here knows you're alive and we want to keep your injury to a minimum, ok? Don't nod your head, just blink your eyes." Gibbs then shocked the young medic by leaning down and kissing his kid's cheek. The EMT smiled to himself, nice boss, obviously a lot closer than any boss he'd ever worked for.

When Tim still seemed upset, Gibbs leaned in, "Timomine, you'll be all right, I'll call Vance right now, Sarah and Rob will be at the hospital and Ziva's driving the prisoner so she should be back by now too. " That got a smile out of his son and he calmed a bit, calming further when Gibbs reached for his hand first looking to the EMT for permission. He nodded so Gibbs held on while he called in.

"Leon, yeah, I'm on the helo with Tim and our EMT, we're on the way to Bethesda. He's conscious but he's having problems talking so no voice right now. Ducky said my kids are there, can I…" Leon never stood a chance against a relieved Sarah and Rob. "Dad, can Tim hear us?"

"Yeah, Robbie, he can hear you, he's heard your voice and he's smiling. The medic wants him to stay still and remain as calm as possible, son, so don't go telling him any wild tales, ok?"

"Yeah, Dad, ok…"

"Tim, big bro, can you hear me?"

"Sarah, I promise he can hear you, he's blinking at me and the medic wants him to remain calm."

"Oh, sorry."

"Gibbs, we'll meet you at Bethesda."

"Wait Leon, is Ziva back yet, they left with the…they left before this happened."

"Hang on, Jethro, Pam is updating me…" Gibbs heard Ms. Cook talking softly to Vance and then Leon was back on the line.

"Ziva came back from the hospital while Ericson is in surgery and somehow heard about what happened to Tim. I guess no one got a chance to tell her Sarah and Rob were here; she ran out and jumped into her car, the guards at the gate report she turned north, so she'll probably meet you at Bethesda."

Gibbs looked at Tim and saw a relieved smile. "Copy that Leon, our boy heard that too."

"Do you want us to call the Hubbards?"

"No, we'll do that from the hospital."

"All right, we'll see you there." The call ended just as the pilot informed them they were three minutes out from Bethesda. The EMT had taken Tim's vitals again and relayed them to the hospital. He'd figured out the guy's boss was actually his father and he felt silly for having thought a boss would kiss one of his team, even after being afraid he'd died.

The helo landed and the emergency team swept Tim away and the helo thrummed away, back out to retrieve Schneider's body. Gibbs was left to find his own way to the ER. Unfortunately, he knew the way all too well although not usually from the rooftop; this was his first helo delivery. When he got to the Emergency Room, he found Ziva arguing with the receptionist/gate keeper. "Look, he is my boyfriend; he needs to see me, just to see me; that is all I ask."

"I'm sorry, Miss, you're not authorized…"

Gibbs stepped in, "She's listed as his medical proxy and so am I."

"And you are?"

"His father, Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"I see sir. Oh, he's listed under Gibbs here, not McGee, that's odd."

"No, it's not; it's just a long story. If anyone else comes in looking for Agent McGee, you don't need to tell them his name here is listed as Gibbs, right?"

"Well, no sir, since you've requested it be handled that way and you're listed as next of kin, we have to respect your wishes."

"Except he's not dead; he's injured."

"Yes Sir, Miss, if you'll take a seat, I'll let his medical team know you're here."

"Thank you." Ziva looked like she'd been crying and Gibbs gave her a warm hug.

"He's going to be all right, Zeevers, he's alive and alert. He had movement of all his limbs."

"That is good, Gibbs, I had not heard that."

"Sarah and Rob were up in Vance's office already when you got there."

"How…did I miss a call?"

"No Ziva, they called Vance while he was on the phone with Miller being updated."

"Then…how?"

"Don't know, we'll ask them when they get here. Vance is bringing them over."

"Oh, they must think I am horrible to run off and leave them."

"Doubt it. They heard Vance and I talking about it."

"Are you going to call Jim and Claire…and Maisie?"

"Thought we'd wait for the kids and then call them." As he said that, the double doors swung open and his kids walked in. He held out his arms and they ran straight to him, Sarah snagging Ziva on the way and tugging her into the family hug. Gibbs kissed the top of each head, looking up to see Vance trying to hide his amusement. "Thanks for helping them, Leon."

"Just glad our boy is alive, conscious and alert, Gibbs. Hear anything yet?"

"No, but the helo only landed eight minutes ago, I imagine the exam will take a bit longer."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Hospital

Gibbs was correct in his prediction. While they were waiting, they called the Hubbards. Although Gibbs was used to doing things as Team Leader, this was the first time he'd had to call family as both the boss and father of an injured teammate. He did think to ask Sarah and Rob if they wanted to make the call or talk with their uncle, aunt or grandmother, but they shook their heads, having enough trouble holding onto their emotions as it was.

Rob remembered that Sarah had spoken to Uncle Jim earlier and mentioned it, to Sarah's wide eyed horror. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten that and pulled out her cell. It was off as required by the hospital but she found several missed calls. Gibbs swallowed and let it go for now, although not before an angry glare escaped. He kept thinking how he would be feeling if he were Jim. If Sarah or Rob had mentioned it earlier, he would not have waited to call their poor family. He looked at Vance, who nodded, he could stay a few more minutes, understanding Gibbs was upset and wanted to make sure the Hubbards were properly informed. Jethro stepped outside and found the contact number for Jim Hubbard. To say the call was answered quickly would be an understatement.

"Jethro, what is it, what's happening, Sarah…"

"Easy Jim, easy, take a deep breath and let me tell you. "

"Sorry, it's just…"

"Yeah, I just found out about that. Now, Tim. He's alive, but he has been injured. Nothing life threatening as far as the EMT could find." He heard the other man take a deep breath and release it, "Hold on, I'm finding Claire. Ok, we're on speaker, just the two of us. Maisie's out with the kids, I didn't tell her Sarah had contacted me."

"Good, bad enough you've been sweating it out, hate for your mom to go through that again. Yeah, we were out in a remote area busting a couple of bad guys. One of the suspects tried to flee into a wilderness area and Tim and Tony tag teamed him, took him down. Unfortunately, the action happened on an old wooden bridge that collapsed under the weight of the three men. Tim and the dead guy went down with the bridge and landed in a gorge about 15 feet below, in a creek. He landed on his back but remained conscious; in fact he was still conscious when we got him here. "

"How'd they get him out?"

"Vance called in a helo with a squad of Marines and a medic, and they brought him out, airlifted him to Bethesda."

Claire spoke, "He was conscious, that's good, Jethro. Were you able to go with him in the helicopter?"

"Yeah Claire, had another team on site and Tony of course, so there was no problem with me leaving the scene."

He heard her exclaiming in the background that she hadn't even thought of it that way. He responded even though she hadn't spoken directly to him. "I'm used to operating as an NCIS investigator and Team Lead, so I responded to your question like that. Truth is nothing on this earth would have kept me out of the helo with my son."

"Have you heard how he is yet?"

"No and I apologize, if I had known Sarah had contacted you earlier, I would have called sooner. I can tell you he had movement in his arms and legs which the EMT said was a good thing, but he wasn't able to roll over or sit up. He also hasn't been able to talk, the EMT said he thought maybe a piece of debris had hit his larynx on the way down, but as I said he's been fully conscious and able to respond, thank God."

"You're at Bethesda, right and the kids are with you?"

"Yeah, don't know what happened to get them going, but somehow they ended up in Vance's office."

"All right, I'm on my way and Claire will wait for Maisie and the kids. Want us to call Penny?"

"Oh geez, I hadn't even … uh, I think Tim mentioned she's traveling somewhere, why don't you hold off, I'll ask the kids, after I'm done yelling at them, and if she is traveling I think we should wait until we know more."

"Sounds like a plan, I'm in my car already."

"Don't hot foot it Jim, want you here in one piece."

Gibbs returned to the waiting area and nodded his thanks to Vance. The man stood and stretched; telling the others he had to get back to the Agency, he walked closely by Gibbs. "Go easy on them, pretty sure they've been in a state of panic all afternoon."

Gibbs nodded; they would talk later, after they knew more about Tim. He wasn't going to yell, he knew he was too keyed up and worried about Tim and so were his two youngest. Instead, he pulled a chair out from the back wall and sat in front of them. Rob looked defiant and Sarah upset. He liked that Rob was ready to defend his sister, just like Tim. Ziva gave him a look and he winked at her, turning back to the kids as he saw Zeevers relax.

Sarah was trying not to cry, she knew she was in trouble and she was sorry but she'd been so scared. She blinked in surprise when her dad reached over and took her hand, rubbing his thumb over it. "Not going to yell, Sarah. We'll talk about things to do differently later, that's my job as your dad – just like it's been Tim's job, right?"

He looked over at Rob who was still looking a bit defiant but had added some curiosity. "Important thing to remember today is that Tim is our priority."

They both nodded. Gibbs relaxed and patted Rob's knee. "Proud of you both, have no idea what happened but you did a good job getting to the best place. So now, how about you tell me what happened? "

Rob nodded and started off with his waking up knowing something was wrong. Sarah took up her part and the two of them tag teamed to finish the tale, with Rob taking the tail end. "It's just as much my fault as Sarah's for not calling Uncle Jim back, Dad."

Gibbs nodded, "Ok, that's fair. But while we're being fair, let's look at the facts. If this was before all the family stuff, what would you have done…feeling the same way and all?"

Rob and Sarah looked at each other, "Called Tim's cell, and then Ziva's."

"And if no answer to either?"

"Called you."

"Good and I'm sure Tony is in the mix somewhere too." They nodded.

"And if you didn't get a response?"

"Maybe call Ducky, but if you guys are all not answering he might be with you."

"So…?"

Rob cleared his throat, "When Director Vance took office and he split you guys up, Tim erased the contact number for the Director's office. Instead he put Agent Fornell's name in, because he said he'd be able to find out where he was and what happened - and that Fornell was a good friend of yours."

Sarah continued, "Then when you got the team back together, after a while Tim put the Director's number back in, said he thought he was ok; at least he would help us out."

"So really you were following the protocol Tim set up for you?"

Sarah giggled, "Dad is that an Investigator word…protocol? Sounds like spies!"

"Covert operatives, young lady, 'spy' is so 'Cold War'!"

"Natalie was a spy."

"Yes, and she wasn't anywhere good enough to be a covert operative. Have you guys had these feelings or whatever you call them about Tim or each other before?"

Rob got up and started pacing and Sarah played with a torn cuticle. "I'll take that as a strong yes and it turned out to be something wrong with Tim then too." Rob turned and stood before him and Gibbs saw the young man was fighting tears.

He shook his head and pulled him into his arms, stroking his head. "It's ok son, let it out." He looked over at Sarah; she was watching them with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"We never told Tim."

"Ok."

Rob lifted his head. "We were 5 and 6 years old, Tim was 12 and we were staying at the shelter. Sarah and I were sitting at one of the long tables at the shelter, doing our homework with some of the other kids. Tim was working in the kitchen and helping us all with spelling. He would say a word out loud and we would spell it back to him. He said a word; it was 'park', right Sarah?" His sister nodded. "He said park and I got dizzy, my stomach hurt and I was scared and I didn't know why. Then this guy who had been at another table having a cup of coffee and watching us, he got up and pulled up the hood on his sweatshirt, ran over to Tim and…" Rob stopped talking and made a stabbing and slicing motion. He spoke again, as tears rolled down his face. "He was behind Timmy, he didn't see the guy coming and when he stuck the knife in my brother, Timmy started to fall but the guy held him up and started cutting across his back. Timpa was hurt so badly, we were screaming and the people there jumped on the guy but Timpa was bleeding, oh god, everything was coming out of him, all his blood and he was screaming because it hurt so much."

Gibbs had gathered both kids in his arms and had tears streaming down his own face. "We remembered that Timmy said to put pressure on a cut, Timmy went to sleep I guess passed out and we put pressure on, we were just kids, but several of us leaned on the cut until the ambulance got there."

"Did you go with the ambulance?"

"They wouldn't let us and Miss Lu, you know her Dad, she said she'd send someone for Geordie and we knew we were allowed to stay with him."

"So you knew ahead of time, Rob."

"I did too, Dad, but we didn't talk about it until that night. Lu let us leave our cases in her car, all locked up in the trunk, Geordie and Tim's stuff too and she gave Geordie some money so we could take the bus to the hospital."

"Geordie went with you." They nodded.

Sarah continued, "On the bus Geordie started asking what happened and I said I was doing homework and got dizzy, felt sick and scared, and Robbie said the same thing happened to him."

"You were ok after Tim was hurt?" They both looked at him indignantly. He huffed, "I meant you weren't dizzy or sick to your stomachs anymore. I'm sure you were still scared."

"Oh, yeah, no dizzy and no sick."

He nodded and again kissed the tops of their heads. "How long was he in the hospital? He only said it was a few days and he could walk again."

"Two weeks, Dad. He was in there two weeks and Robbie's mom never came by, never showed up, and then we heard the nurse say she was going to call CPS on us."

"Rob, none of you ever saw Ellen again?" He shook his head. "That day…before Tim…for once she was there when the shelter opened at 4, otherwise we couldn't get in; usually we had to wait outside for her. She went to take a shower and I don't remember if she came back in the room."

He looked at Sarah but she shook her head, "I don't remember seeing her while we were doing our homework and we'd had an apple and peanut butter snack at the table right before that."

Gibbs looked over at Ziva and she startled, frowning and then finally understood. Gibbs was figuring Ellen had been killed by Svetlana's hit man and her body hidden and dragged out later, probably buried somewhere close by although if the hit man had a car, it could have been anywhere, even thrown her body in the bay. So he hadn't killed Tim or Sarah, but he had killed Ellen. Probably strangled her and then used that in his lie to his boss.

Gibbs shook his head in disbelief; _would that woman's evil never be done_? He would get in touch with the Bayopolis PD and see if there were any 'Jane Does' found during that time period, he wondered if Tim could give him a description when he was well enough. Or maybe Lu would remember something. He pulled out his notebook and made some notes.

The group settled back in their chairs and took deep breaths; Gibbs could kick himself as he could have waited to ask them that; they shouldn't have had to tell him all that while they were here, waiting to hear about Tim's condition. He needed to learn when to switch hats between Boss, Interrogator and Dad. It was easier with Tim, he'd just tell him, but these two didn't know that. He added that to the list to discuss with them, they were to always let him know if he came on as Tim's Boss rather than Dad. He needed to stop doing that; he'd done it with Claire earlier.

Ziva sat and watched Gibbs' emotions roll across his face. She realized he was having troubles today separating Dad from Boss and wondered if she should talk with him. No, probably it should be Ducky, she would mention it to him when she saw him. She shifted restlessly, what was taking them so long with Tim? She looked up as Jim Hubbard entered the waiting area, smiling at him as he looked anxiously at her. Gibbs had his eyes closed but opened them now. "Jim, made good time."

He nodded at Jethro and then turned to the kids, giving them each a big hug. "Uncle Jim, we're…"

"Shh, don't worry about it. It must be hard and confusing going from a 4 person family to so many more. Important thing is we're all here for Tim."

Ziva smiled at him, noting how close he was to echoing Gibbs, both good fathers. Her phone buzzed shortly after that; DiNozzo was on his way back to DC and hoped to find out how Tim was. Ziva got up and paced outside the door as she spoke with their partner, "We have not heard anything yet, Tony. Gibbs says his condition was still the same; he was conscious and alert when they brought him in. Yes, Sarah and Rob are here as is their uncle and of course Gibbs."

Tony smacked his forehead, "Geez I didn't even think of the uncle and the grandmother, Ziva. Not used to having some many family members. It's always been just us…your father so far away and my dad; well you know what I mean."

"Yes, I believe I do, Tony. It will take time for all of us, yes?"

"Yeah, did you hear from Abby?"

"No, but I would think she would be handling all the evidence before anything else."

"Yeah, you're right. All right, I'm going to the office and check in with Vance, see if it's ok if I come over. Might have to do a report first. I'll try to check in with Abby too." They disconnected and Ziva paced for awhile, finally deciding to go find some tea and some coffee for Gibbs.

She caught his eye, "I am going for tea, Gibbs; do you want coffee now?" Hubbard, who had been chatting with his nephew and niece, caught the magic word and looked up. "Coffee?"

"We'll bring you some back, Jim. Rob, you must need some by now."

Rob nodded, "Yeah, that'd be good."

"Sarah?"

"No, thanks Ziva, I'm fine."

Gibbs and Ziva headed out, Gibbs trying to remember what floor DiNozzo had been on that time he'd found the good coffee in the staff's break room. Hearing footsteps behind them, they stopped and found Rob. "You know cafeteria coffee is horrible. And don't go for the ER's coffee, they'll shoot you." And he proceeded to tell them what departments in which to look for the good coffee. And so it was that Ziva and Gibbs came to be sneaking around in the maternity ward looking for the good coffee. They found it and were just pouring three cups when a nurse swung by on a quick break.

"Ah ha, who are you two? Visiting a baby & mama?" They shook their heads and Gibbs decided to just tell the truth. "My son's in the ER and his younger brother, uncle and I are in dire need of coffee, good coffee."

"Someone told on us?"

"Someone in our family works in another hospital and had ideas where to find the good stuff."

"I should send you to the other hospital, but I'll tell you what…you the son's girlfriend?" Ziva nodded. "Going to ever have children?" She shrugged and nodded. "You'd be back as Granddaddy then?" Gibbs grinned and nodded. "Ok, when that happens you owe us coffee, so whatever you drink today, you pay us back then, got it?"

Gibbs nodded; still grinning. "Try the surgical ward too; they're on the 5th floor west." She leaned in, "Might as well share the wealth."

They finished filling the cups and took off before anyone else noticed. When they returned to the ER, Gibbs noticed Rob and Hubbard's noses told them they were there before they looked up. He grinned at Rob, "We got busted."

"Oops, where were you?"

"Maternity; when Ziva and Tim have children, we have to pay them back." That broke the funk they'd been sinking back into and the five of them had a good laugh. Rob finally gasped, "Well, the nurses in Maternity are usually the nicest."

Gibbs nodded, "Pretty too, with a good sense of humor."

Ziva looked at him, the woman had been pretty yes, but she was not a redhead and she thought…oh, Col. Mann had not been a redhead either.

Time seemed to go a little quicker after that. The last cup had just been tossed when they spotted a woman in scrubs walking into the waiting area. Gibbs stood up as she approached and spoke, "Gibbs, for Timothy Gibbs?"

"Yes, we're his family."

"All of you?"

"Yes."

"Good! I'm Doctor Bwookie; let me tell you what we've found and what we're going to do." The doctor started toward a chair, but Gibbs beat her to it, pulling it out and turning it so it faced the rest of them. She smiled and sat, sighing, "Oh that feels good. Ok, first things first, Ziva David and Leroy Jethro Gibbs? "

The two raised their hands and the doctor chuckled. "Good, just had to check. Now, Timothy came to us fully conscious and alert, not able to speak and with some back trauma. Bruising is now appearing in the area of his larynx, but the scans show no fracture; he will slowly regain his voice as the bruise heals. I understand a bridge collapsed under him?" Gibbs nodded. "Yes, I see; I agree with the EMT's theory that his neck took a glancing blow from some of the debris during the fall. If it had been after he landed or from his landing, the damage would likely have been more severe. The scan also shows no sign of any trauma to his head, always a good thing. He retains his mobility with legs, feet, arms and hands. We've also pinpointed the problem with his back. It's not a fracture, although there are some strains. What we found, however, was a small foreign object buried deeply in the muscles of his back and it looks like his landing caused movement of that object. That's what is causing his pain, well and some from the bruising too. The object is not close enough to the spinal cord to have caused any damage there, another thing we can be thankful for. I understand he's a field agent with NCIS, but I've looked through Timothy's medical records and I see nothing that tells me what that foreign object might be, so this must have happened prior to his employment with NCIS. I also don't see his childhood medical records. We'll need to take a look at those."

Gibbs was thinking fast and furious about what that object could possibly be and he didn't like his conclusion. He caught Rob's pale face. "Doctor, I'm Rob Mc…Gibbs. Tim, Sarah and I grew up in Bayopolis. And there's only one way I can think of that that foreign object got into Tim's back."

Sarah gave a little cry and looked horrified, "Robbie, no, it can't be not after all these years. They can't have done that to him!"

The doctor looked to the father, who was looking angry and grief stricken at the same time. The other young woman, Ziva David, looked troubled as she addressed the younger brother.

"What hospital did they take him to, Rob?"

"Bayopolis General, Ziva."

Ziva looked at the doctor, "Tim was stabbed when he was 12 and rushed to that hospital. But it has been 17 years. "

"Pediatric surgery; there'll be records somewhere, do you remember who his doctors were, when he was discharged?"

Sarah's face assumed an expression of dislike. "Oh I remember the doctor all right. His name was Feeney, it rhymed with Meany and he was."

The doctor bit back a smile, "You must have been quite young."

"Yes, I was 6 and Rob was 5."

The doctor looked at the silver haired man. "Were you there, Mr. Gibbs?"

Two voices chorused, "Agent Gibbs" and the older man smiled. "No, although Tim is my son we didn't find out until recently."

"Oh, I see, then that might explain the problem with his name."

"Yes, legally Tim is Timothy Gibbs, but because we work together at NCIS, we're on the same team, he opted to continue using his stepfather's name, McGee. So when you ask for records, you should ask for Timothy…"

Rob interrupted, "No Dad, we had to use Ellen's name."

"Brill?"

"Yes, we were the Brill brats to the hospital staff." By now the doctor's amusement had turned to anger at what she was hearing about the children's experience.

Sarah shook her head, "We were scared, terrified. Ellen Brill got us into the shelter, but Tim was our parent, we were already homeless orphans. We wouldn't tell them anything, we hid from them as much as possible and stole food; they had every reason to call us brats."

"I see and how long was your brother in the hospital?"

"Two weeks."

"Two weeks? That's insane, how did he…"

Again Rob spoke up, "We heard the staff talking about calling CPS and told Tim…" and Rob again recounted their escape from the hospital.

"And no one came looking for you?"

Gibbs jumped back in, "The police did, don't know about any medical people. They hid out for several weeks."

"Oh my, that's… horrible. And to make matters worse, it looks like they missed part of the knife, I'm guessing from the shape of the object, it's the tip."

Gibbs shook his head, "That's been in Tim all this time? How could he live with that?"

"Because he was as young as he was, the pain would have lessened as his muscles developed further and basically encapsulated the tip of the knife. Unless he happened to hit the exact area of muscle, which is what happened today, there wouldn't have been too much discomfort."

Rob spoke, "It hurt for a long time afterward, the doctor at the clinic gave him some ointment. We used to rub it onto his back for him."

"Did that doctor know?"

"I don't know."

"That's unconscionable behavior by the surgeon; to not take a scan, not make 100% sure there was no piece of the knife in him. A12 year old!"

Gibbs nodded at her, equally horrified. The doctor continued.

"And he's a federal agent now, wow, good for him; that must take a lot of effort if his back is still causing him problems."

Ziva had that information, "He does have back pain occasionally, if he has been knocked down or has to be on his knees for any length of time. He takes Tylenol for a few days to relieve it."

Gibbs turned away, wondering what else he didn't know about his son, his agent!

* * *

A/N: Any errors are my own, this chapter was beta'd by the awesome harmonfreak1, however I've changed bits and pieces since she reviewed it.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This chapter has unsettling information about one of the canon characters. It is _not meant to be bashing_ but rather my speculation about what causes various behaviors in this character. The consequences of the information will be addressed in this story and the following one.

* * *

Chapter Four

Ripples

Jim, seeing Gibbs' sadness, touched him on the arm as he asked the doctor, "So what happens now, Doctor? Will Tim have to have surgery? I'm his uncle, by the way. "

"Yes, sir, he will have to have surgery, as soon as we get those records from the other hospital."

Gibbs swallowed past the lump in his throat, "Dr. Bwookie, you'll have to go in and remove it? " At the doctor's nod, he continued, "How much damage will that do to his muscles, his back? Will he still be able to function? Will he lose mobility? He's a field agent; will he still be able to do that?"

"We will have to cut through quite a bit of muscle, Agent Gibbs, and there will be a long recovery before he can return to his job, certainly to anything other than desk work and I can't promise he'll be able to resume his field agent duties. In back surgery, I never guarantee anything, but I can say with confidence that he will not lose any mobility and he is young enough and in good enough overall shape that he should eventually make a strong recovery. Whether it will be 100%, as I said I don't know."

Gibbs sighed and felt Jim's hand again on his arm. He gave the man a brief smile then straightened up.

"Doctor, if there's any hesitation, any delay from Bayopolis General, please advise us, in fact we'll be more than happy to go pick those records up personally. "

Doctor Bwookie took a long look at him, "Unfortunately, they're a civilian hospital, Agent Gibbs. However, my sister is on their staff, in Pediatrics as it happens and just as much a force of nature as I am."

"That's fine, Doctor, but I wasn't thinking of NCIS, I was thinking of Ziva. She can be quite persuasive."

Ziva gave him the smile he privately called her 'assassin's' smile and the Doctor's eyes shot open. "You're not an NCIS agent?"

"I am a Mossad officer; I am the liaison between Mossad and NCIS."

"Mossa…oh my…well, I don't think it will be necessary to go to any extremes, Ms. David, but," the doctor grinned, "we'll certainly keep you as backup, how's that?" Ziva nodded.

Beside her, Jim blinked, he'd known she was Mossad but had never seen that look in her eyes. He was glad she was on their side. He wondered how Tim ever managed to argue with her and not end up dead. Then in a blink, the look was gone, and the Ziva he'd come to know was back in place. He looked at Gibbs who gave him a reassuring smirk.

"Can we see Tim?"

"Yes, but only two of you at a time and for no more than 10 minutes at a time. And if anyone gets him too stirred up, we'll have to cut the visits. He's in Room 527; give me five minutes to give him a quick check before you come up."

Gibbs and Ziva nodded, familiar with the drill and the Doctor left. Jim spoke up, "If you'll tell him I'm here, I'll wait for Mum or Claire."

"Appreciate the offer Jim, but no reason you should wait, we're all family."

"Besides," Sarah said, "Dad will be staying all night anyway."

Gibbs looked at the ceiling, just realizing he would have to share time with Tim. "Trade off Ziva, you can do half the night and then I'll come in? Or you have tonight and I'll take tomorrow night?"

She looked at him and then patted him on the arm. "I will take the first shift, Gibbs; you may relieve me at 0300."

He nodded. When they had waited as long as they could stand it, they took the elevator upstairs to the 5th floor and found the waiting room there. Gibbs had already told Sarah and Rob to take the first visit, but Sarah was nervous, so Rob decided to go in with Ziva or Uncle Jim; Gibbs went with Sarah. The young woman grabbed her dad's hand as they walked in the room. While it did Gibbs' heart good just to lay eyes on his Tim, it also hurt to see him like this. His neck was lightly bandaged and he was on an IV, for pain, shock and hydration the doctor had said. He was lying on his right side, propped up with a long bolster pillow at his back, keeping pressure off the painful area. He saw them come in and gave them a big smile, which made Sarah giggle.

"He's on pain medication; I remember that smile from before." Gibbs smiled as he leaned down and kissed his boy. Sarah followed him and Tim's eyebrows furrowed as he frowned. "Rob's out in the waiting room, Timson. He'll be in to see you in a few minutes. As will Ziva and your uncle. The rest of the gang will show up when they can."

Tim gave his dad a look of gratitude for understanding and did a little wavy motion with his fingers at Sarah. She smiled and slipped her hand in his. "I remember, Timpa, you were hurt and made us feel better. You need to rest this time and do what the doctors say."

Gibbs pulled up a chair and offered it to Sarah, but she shook her head so he took it, sitting where he could see his son's face and keep a hand on Tim's arm, anchoring him. Reassuring himself too, truth be told. Sarah managed to find some inconsequential things to talk about and chattered on, clearly just wanting to be with her brother. Gibbs sat back, half listening to his daughter and keeping both eyes peeled on Tim, as if he was going to disappear like a magician's illusion.

By the end of ten minutes, Tim's eyelids were sliding shut as they quietly ceded their places to Rob and Jim. Ziva said she would wait, Gibbs figured she wanted some time alone with her boyfriend. They spent the rest of the day rotating visits, Tim waking at intervals and smiling at whoever happened to be there. Gram, Claire and the two children arrived at some point, followed by Tony and eventually Ducky. Jimmy came by after work and the Vances came by as well, leaving Kayla and Jared in the waiting room with Callum, Ainsley and two of the adults in the extended family. Penny was indeed traveling and was currently out of cell range; Claire had volunteered to continue trying to contact her.

Dr. Bwookie poked her head in Tim's room with an update, but not finding any familiar faces, looked in the waiting room. Gibbs was there with his eyes closed along with an older man, a slightly younger man and four children apparently doing their homework. Ziva walked into the room with a tray of hot beverages.

"Hello, Dr. Bwookie. Please come in, this is some of our extended family. The children are Kayla and Jared, their father is Director Vance, Gibbs' boss."

Jared's eyes lit up at that and he turned, grinning at Gibbs who even with his eyes closed gave him back an amused grin.

"And these two are our cousins, Callum and Ainsley." All four children smiled politely.

"The gentleman next to Gibbs is Dr. Donald Mallard, our Medical Examiner and personal physician, I know he wants to speak with you, and next to him is our teammate, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."

Tony put his flirty face on and opened his mouth, but Ducky jumped up and put his hand out. "I'm happy to meet you, Doctor, I was hoping you could spare me some time to bring me up to date? "

"That's fine, Doctor, I can do that now, if you'd like. But first I wanted to let Dad Gibbs know that his son's medical records were personally delivered this evening, by none other than Dr. Meanie."

Sarah, just coming in from the cafeteria, heard that and giggled. Rob just behind her with their aunt and uncle, barked out a laugh. Gibbs opened his eyes and smiled widely at the doctor, very pleased she'd made his kids laugh and she twinkled her hazel eyes at him. Tony, hearing the laughter and seeing Gibbs' smile and the doctor's response, knew he didn't stand a chance and sank down in his seat. Jared sidled over to him and whispered, "Don't worry Agent DiNozzo; there's lots of pretty nurses and doctors here that are your age." Tony remembered just in time that this was the Boss's Boss's son; he nearly bit his tongue in half to keep from snarking at the kid. He also belatedly remembered he was in a relationship which quickly eliminated any sting from the kid or his flirty face being ignored.

Ducky, along with Gibbs' new favorite doctor, that is second favorite doctor, left the waiting room and took their conversation to the doctor's lounge. The Vances came in after their ten minutes were up, reporting that Palmer left after his ten minutes and that Tim's grandmother was in there now. They gathered the children's belongings and left for the night. Claire had driven over with Maisie and the children, so she decided to wait for her mother-in-law; Jim and their kids said good night to everyone and left for home.

Tony had not had a chance to update Gibbs or Ziva on his conversation with Abby, so he waited until everyone but the NCIS team and immediate family left. When Maisie's time was up, Ducky back from his visit with Dr. Bwookie, went in and Claire and Maisie left for the night, after a good night kiss for Maisie from her Donald, of course. Now it was down to the NCIS crew plus Sarah and Rob. Tony would drop them at NCIS when he left, as Rob's car was still at the agency.

When Ducky finished his visit, Tim's sister and brother went back in to Tim's room and Tony gathered his courage. Gibbs looked at him, "What did she say to you?"

"Boss, I…how did you know?"

"You've been upset since you got here, I thought once you saw Tim you'd be ok, but you're not. Tell us, DiNozzo."

"Well, she, she's flooded with work, Boss, stressed out."

"DiNozzo, rip it off like an old bandage."

"Yes Boss. She was muttering to herself about ungrateful SOBs and when she saw me, demanded to know what happened. I told her and she said she was sure Tim jumped on the bridge purposely, hoping I would fall when the bridge fell apart and that…that Tim deserved to be hurt, he deserved whatever pain came to him. She said Tim had always been jealous of me and would do anything to get me out of the way and I had better be careful, watch my back. And then, Boss, she laughed, not like ha ha I'm joking, which… it just wouldn't have been funny but like …I don't know, a crazy person, I don't mean movie crazy person but a real crazy person. It was scary, Boss, the whole thing was freaky."

Ducky, who had entered the room behind Tony, looked at Gibbs. The man was exhausted, they had worked for two solid weeks with very little rest and the long minutes spent fearing for his son's life today had nearly broken him.

Ducky spoke directly to Jethro, "It's time, my friend; we can't keep hoping she'll get better on her own. As I have heard Anthony's report, I'm required by law to tell our Director. I will also tell him of Tim's work and our recommendation for her care."

Tony turned, eyes wide, brows frowning. "You knew, the two of you knew?"

"No, we haven't _known_, Tony, we suspected she was having emotional and mental problems and we've been keeping an eye on her for the last few months."

Ziva spoke, "Tim knows. He has been watching her for a long time. You have discovered his back-up work?"

"Yes Ziva and why was all this kept from us, why did Timothy see fit to redo Abigail's work over the past two years?"

"He told me he had noticed emotional changes, a growing inability to rein in her emotions; he called it deterioration, but not being a doctor, could not make a determination. He did not 'redo' her work, he checked it and signed off on his own forms so that if anything should come up in court, the agency would not lose the case or be embarrassed because of an error in the forensics. He did not tell either of you because…"

Ziva looked at Tony and he nodded, understanding Tim's predicament.

"Why?"

"Because she is your favorite, Gibbs, and yours too, Ducky."

* * *

While I hate the idea of favoritism and in no way condone it, I also wonder if Abby's various behaviors may be part of an underlying mental and emotional problem. I first saw this theory in a note and story by Emerald1, credit goes to her for putting it out there. The theory stuck with me, made her nasty and/or irresponsible behavior toward Tim in Dog Tags, Blood Bath, Cracked and Borderline (I know I'm missing episodes here) more palatable. I'm not deifying Tim, if her behavior had been the same toward Tony, Ziva or Jimmy as it has been toward Tim, I would be saying the same thing. It would also explain the deplorable change in the character from the brilliant, quirky, interesting and fun forensic tech we met in the early seasons to the childish, albeit still brilliant, irresponsible, mean, childish, attention seeking bully of a character we have today. I've expanded that theory in this story because it's a family story and in canon Abby is part of Gibbs' family.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Challenges

There was dead silence in the room. Ziva looked at Tony and the two of them walked out, leaving the two elders to come to terms with what they had just learned. Gibbs slumped, his head in his hands. Ducky, stunned, sat down heavily and gracelessly in the nearest chair. Finally he spoke, "Have we been that bad, so blind, that he could not come to us?"

Gibbs raised his head. "It was mostly me, Duck, but yeah, you do have a way of coddling her too." Ducky closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to deal with this. "I…I don't know what to say, I always trusted that any of your team could come to me if they couldn't go to you. I don't understand."

"I do, Duck. Think about it, if he'd gone to you, you would have demanded evidence. When he gave you evidence, having already ruined your relationship with him, you would have to go to the Director and it would come down to me and I would blame him. And I would have, Duck. I would have found a way to blame him; nothing could touch my perfect little girl."

"She's never been perfect, none of us are, and she is certainly not a little girl, Jethro."

"No, I know that now, Duck, but the last few months have been an eye opener for me. There was a hierarchy on my team, hell between all seven of us and Jimmy and Tim were at the bottom, always, did you know that? Abby and Tony at the top. She reminded me of Kelly and I spoiled her, fell for her lies, let her get away with hurting Tim and when she was through, then I would hurt him – punish him when she was the one who'd done the wrong, caused the problem. Not saying Tim is perfect, as a person or an agent, he's had his share of mistakes just as Tony and Ziva have…and me, although I seem to have committed a lot more than I realized. I never thought about Kelly having been an 8 year old child and Abby being a 40 year old grown woman, I never made that distinction until recently. And Duck, you may not have caused Tim as much pain as I have, but you treated her differently than the rest, you forgave her, coddled her time after time…and I always approved."

"Timothy has told you all this?"

"Some of it and the rest I've pieced together. And…I talked with Jimmy a few times too. Trying to get my head around it."

"Jimmy, oh my lord, my Jimmy. Has he suffered from my treatment of her?"

"You'll have to ask him."

"And the others have known this."

"Ziva told me she knew the moment she met Abby and saw the team with her. Tony has just been realizing a lot of these things; he and I had a talk awhile back about being a better friend and teammate to Tim and he dug deep then. But on some level I think he's known, yeah, they've known, hell Kate probably knew."

"Why then, why did Timothy stay? I mean, I know he's become a fine agent and that you're proud of him, but why did he stay when he was so badly mistreated?"

Rob's voice rang out in the small room. "Because at first he felt what he was doing, what he was learning, was more important, not just for the job, but for him personally and he felt the treatment was part of being new. It was what he'd wanted to do since the car wreck and he was determined; it was what kept him going through our lives on the street. More importantly, he stayed because our brother has never walked away from any challenge in his life. Most of them he hasn't had a choice, but he felt if he could survive first the deaths of his father and brother, being abandoned with his baby sister, having to raise us, heck, taking me in and making me part of the family, getting stabbed, if he could do all that, he could survive whatever crap you threw at him."

Sarah stood behind him and now she pushed her brother. "Tell them Rob, they need to know."

"And because he loves you, both of you, always has. He hadn't had any male role models or authority figure to give him any guidance since the McGees died. He needed you. Gibbs, he saw something in you that made him want to keep trying. We were afraid he was like an abused child who won't give up on the abusive parent, and I suppose in a way that was true. But he insisted that you'd come around someday and see what he'd learned, be proud of him. He was sure of it. I guess he had to be. Doesn't mean he didn't often come home, go into his room, shut the door and not come out til morning. But he still kept going. And Ducky, you have helped him, in every area, with everything he came to you with, except for Abby and he never approached you with his Abby problems, did he?" The older man shook his head.

Rob continued, "I think in his mind he partitioned off his problems with Abby so he could continue functioning with all of you." Tony and Ziva had joined them and the six of them sat in the room, Gibbs and Ducky still in a state of shock and emotional devastation.

Sarah asked, "Has something more happened with that bitch? " At Rob's exclamation she looked at him. "Tim's asleep and I'm tired of being polite about her, I know you feel the same way about her."

She looked around the room, "Look, I know she's your friend and Gibbs, she's been your favorite since Tim's been at the agency, but she's been awful to our brother, mostly because she knew she could get away with it and I'm done being quiet about it."

Sarah finished and stood there, looking at the two older men, then turned and nearly walked into Ziva. They looked each other in the eye then Ziva smiled and patted her on the cheek. "He is so proud of you, Sarah, for the way you stick up for your principles and for our family."

Sarah gave her a small smile that she really wasn't feeling. She really just wanted to go curl up with her brother and make the rest of the world go away. She looked at Rob and knew he felt the same way; he had that look in his eyes that when he was a little boy would cause Tim to pull him into his arms. She blinked more tears away, _damn she was tired of crying_; sometimes she missed those days of being a young child. She knew they'd been desperately poor with never enough to eat, but she missed Tim's hugs that fixed everything.

Gibbs looked up, "You two want to stay with your brother tonight?"

"Yes, but he'll worry why you're not there; he knows _we_ love him."

Rob's eyes bugged out, "Sarah McGee!"

She turned and ran out of the room and Gibbs started after her. Ziva started to stop him, but Rob shook his head at her. "They need to talk, Ziva, and I know I need to talk with him too because the way I know Sarah is feeling is the same way I feel. We're new to this family stuff and now Tim's hurt and we have to share him. It's hard enough normally, but this…I don't know, it's just…difficult."

Gibbs went after Sarah who was heading…he didn't know where she was heading and he suspected she probably didn't either. He caught up to her. "Sarah."

"Did you just suddenly start loving Tim when you found out he was yours?" She turned and looked at him.

He shook his head. "I never realized that I didn't even know him, Sarah. I saw his potential and wanted him on my team. But once I got him there, it was like my mind froze every time he'd start to tell me what he'd done on the computer or what he needed to do. I didn't understand it; I didn't want to understand it and I lumped him right in there with my fear and disrespect of everything electronic. He scared me, he was smarter than all of us combined and it scared me…even though I'd been the one to bring him onto the team. He got trained, he soaked up everything and I was so proud of him, of the person that I let myself know. But I never told him. I kept dishing it out and he kept taking it. It became habit. When Kate died, he was hit so hard by it, I found myself just wanting to take him in my arms and hold him. So I was nice to him, for probably all of 5 minutes. But I liked the look in his eyes when I called him Tim. We had no time to mourn Kate or change things and it was a long time before I saw that look again. But to answer your question; no I did not just suddenly start loving him. I love all my team, _all _of them; I just made damn sure they didn't know it until they needed me. And Tim never needed me. He never asked me for advice; he never came to the house when I'd always told them my door was always open. So I thought he didn't need me and I never looked any farther than that. Until the FBI came in and started to rip his life apart and he was devastated, Sarah, he…I was with him then and I let him know how proud I was of him, tried to let him know everything I'd kept back from him. It was that same week that we opened your family's murder case and yeah, it was that week I found out he was mine but I was already there. When the FBI stopped pretending to play nice and started to really tear things apart and make wild accusations, he just lost it. I had just learned how ignorant, how stupid I'd been with him, this man who had faced such hardship before he was even an teenager much less an adult, and the FBI found his breaking point. I couldn't stand that. Ducky gave him a sedative and we sat in a conference room and I held him in my arms. He told me later it was the first time he'd felt safe since he was a very small boy…since they lived in Puerto Rico. That changed me, Sarah. I will never leave him, I will never abandon him, please God I will never hurt him again and I will always support him. Whether he turned out to share DNA with me or not, he had my heart. I promise you that."

Sarah nodded, "Ok."

"And Sarah, I messed up again, with you and Rob. I was so happy that you and Rob were willing to let me adopt you; it never occurred to me that there were issues we needed to deal with. Tim and I have been working on things and he's getting to the point where he can tell me things and we can deal with them, but I never thought about the ripple effect of our previous relationship."

She nodded, "Rob and I were and are, so happy for you and Timmy. We both cried when you asked us to be your kids, but you know, we've always been Timmy's kids and we didn't realize until we were older than we probably should not have been, that no one else's big brother was also their parent. Tim and Patrick took care of me from the time I was a tiny baby, so I have relied on him my entire life. Rob doesn't remember anyone else but Timmy taking care of him. So yes, we wanted to be your kids and we wanted to be Gibbses, but we didn't really know what that meant. And neither of us thought, 'Hmm, we have issues with how Tim was treated.' We just said yes and that made Tim happy, you happy and us happy. But the stuff with Abby, I've always had a problem with you over that. With her too, but you backing her up, punishing Tim when she ignored him and put herself in danger, I can't let that go, Gibbs. He's my brother. Why are you smiling?"

"Because you sound so much like him and I'm so damn proud of you. Do you know that's what he said to me during your case? He stood in the elevator, Sarah, and he looked me in the eye with no hesitation and said, "She's my sister." I think that's when I started loving him, Sarah, when he stood up to me. I started to see the man he was, aside from being my badly abused computer geek." He paused.

"I don't know what to say about Abby, I only started to learn about the trouble she's caused that same week with the FBI, but I will work on that with Tim and Ducky and Abby when she's well again, promise."

Sarah smiled tiredly and he wrapped his arm around her. "Come on Sweet Pea, either stay here tonight or let Tony take you to my place, you sleep there, both you and Rob."

"We have to work."

"I understand that, but you need to be safe, your family needs to know you're safe. If you don't want to go to my place, then go to your aunt and uncle's. "

"I don't mind staying at your place, I always feel safe there and I think Rob does too."

"All right, tell you what, I'll ride back to the office with Tony and the two of you, then we'll go on to my place, you two get some sleep and I'll grab a few hours, then come back and relieve Ziva."

"That sounds good to me, but you'll have to ask Rob." They had been walking back to the waiting room as they talked and now they quietly opened the door to find Rob sprawled in one of the chairs, fast asleep. Ducky was snoozing as well.

Tony was reading a magazine and looked up, glad to see Boss and lil sis looking like they'd settled things. Ziva looked at them. "Gibbs, I…"

"Ziva, if you don't mind, I'm going to go home for a few hours, take Rob and Sarah with me. I'll be back at 0300. "

"Very well, Gibbs, are you going to carry Rob to the car? Oh, you do not have a car here."

"I was hoping Tony could drop us off at NCIS." Tony smiled, "Happy to, Boss, just let me know when you guys are ready to leave."

They woke a bleary-eyed Rob and the four of them left, kissing Ziva goodnight, with her promise to wake Ducky up within an hour.

Tony dropped the three of them off at NCIS and Sarah drove Rob's car, following Gibbs home. Rob managed to stay awake while Sarah filled him in on her talk with their dad. They parked on the street in front of the house and tumbled wearily in the front door. Before they slept, Gibbs sat them down for a little talk, "Rob, I apologized to Sarah earlier and now I'll make that same apology to you, son. I got so caught up in you guys letting me adopt you that I never thought about any issues there might be rippling out there from my treatment of Tim over the years. I hope you'll give me a chance to make that up to the two of you."

Rob nodded and gave the man a quiet smile. "As long as Timmy's happy, I'm happy, but he's my brother and he raised me. You hurt him and you'll have to answer to me, I don't care how big and tough you are. He's my brother."

Gibbs blinked away tears and grabbed his youngest son – and his daughter – hoping his love for them and Tim showed in his actions, he never was much good with words. "Agreed and I promise. I have something I need to ask. Do you have a contact number for Geordie, his CO maybe? I want to bring him home. Tim needs him, you two need him and he's missing all the family stuff. I know his job is important, I used to do a form of it, but family is important too. How long has it been since you saw him?"

Rob thought, "Almost two years."

"Wow! All right, I'm going to ask Director Vance to bring him home for family emergency leave. If you have a name or number for contact, that will help. We'll go to the Commandant or even SecNav if we have to."

Sarah's eyes just about popped out. "You'd go to the Commandant of the USMC or the Secretary of the Navy to bring our brother home?"

"Yep, but it'd be the Director making the request, not me."

"And Director Vance would do that for us?"

"Yes, absolutely, we've already discussed it."

"Tim's going to be upset, his injuries aren't life threatening."

"Then how about we make it a surprise? And you're right, his injuries are not life threatening but he has a long road to recovery ahead of him and I'd like him to start out with his entire family around him."

Sarah startled him by throwing her arms around him. He wrapped his around her and heard her muffled declaration. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Don't apologize for that, Sweet Pea, you had every right to let me know and I'm glad you did. One of the things I've learned is that I'd much rather know what's going on, no matter how unpleasant it might be, than have it fester."

Rob nodded, "Treat the wound right away."

"Yeah, Doc, that's exactly right." He loved the big grin he got in response to that. "So, contact number for Geordie…anyone, anyone?"

Rob laughed out loud at that. "Didn't know you were a Ferris Bueller fan, Dad! Yeah, it's on our cells, let me dig in here." It took him a minute or so to find it but he found a name and number and Gibbs wrote it down. He'd give it to Leon tomorrow. The kids went upstairs to sleep and Gibbs racked out on the couch. He set his alarm for 0200 so he could get up, grab a shower, have coffee and be at the hospital by 0300. As worried and upset as he was about Tim and everything else that had happened that day, he was out in 30 seconds.

He woke when the timer on the coffeemaker kicked in, about a minute before the alarm. He turned his alarm off, waiting till he knew the coffee was ready before he padded into the kitchen and poured his first cup of the day. Drinking that down, he headed for the shower, afterward dressing and pouring another cup; he poured the rest of the coffee in a travel mug. He changed to fresh grounds for Rob and Sarah and reset the timer so the coffee would be ready when they got up. Then he took his notepad and wrote them a 'Good Morning' note, signing it love Dad. Finishing his current mug, he grabbed the travel mug, his gear and headed out.

He was at Tim's bedside by 0250, finding Ziva curled up in the chair, her head resting on the bed, holding Tim's hand, both sound asleep. Putting his coffee down, he walked over to the waiting room to make sure Ducky had woken up and gone home at some point. There was no trace any of them had been there; Gibbs took that as a good sign. He went back into Tim's room to find not Ziva but Tim waking up, no doubt smelling the coffee. Angling around to the other side of the bed, he gave his son a kiss and got one in return. He stood there, ruffling Tim's hair; savoring his time with him. Tim's surgery was scheduled for later this morning; he would be one of the first patients in the operating room. Due to the position of the knife tip buried so deeply in his muscles, it was possible he would be the last patient out of surgery this evening. Gibbs would stay with Tim until they took him to surgery, then he would go to the office; try to get some work done. They all needed their reports done; Tony had already filled out an eyewitness report since Tim wouldn't be able to do his own report for some time. As soon as Tim was in Recovery, Gibbs would return to the hospital and stay the night.

Ziva woke up and he sent her home to get a few hours sleep, told her not to show her face at the office or hospital until 0900. He was still playing with Tim's hair and talking softly with him when Doctor Bwookie walked in at 0545. Seeing Tim was awake, she shook her head. "I thought I told you to go home and get some rest, Agent Gibbs. "

"I did, I haven't been here all night." She looked at him and he laughed, "Ok, Ziva took first shift, I got here at 0300. "

The Doctor shook her head, "Not what I had in mind."

"He's my son, Doc, we haven't even had a full year as father and son, I needed to be with him."

The doctor's eyes softened and she smiled, "I guess I can understand that. Now, Timothy, how did you sleep?" Tim gave her a 'thumbs up'; between Ziva curling up with him and his dad being here, he'd slept better than he ever had in a hospital.

"Ok, I asked Dr. Mallard to join us this morning; we have another injury presenting itself." At the look on both faces, she said, "We can fix it this morning while you're in there, Timothy, but I'm a bit puzzled."

Ducky walked in just then and, after a quick exchange of greetings, Dr. Bwookie continued. "We found a small bleed in your lower intestine, Timothy, just about where the large intestine meets with the rectum. We went back to the scan and saw a great deal of scar tissue there; from the amount I'd say the original injury must have happened in your childhood."

Tim closed his eyes and turned his head away, except his father was there, so he had no place to turn. Both doctors and Gibbs noticed an immediate increase in Tim's heartbeat rate on the monitor, he was clearly stressing out. Gibbs jumped right in, "Tim, Timson, we're here, son, we love you, whatever it is, it's nothing to be afraid of."

Ducky looked at the doctor who was taking Tim's pulse, stroking his wrist a little. "Dr. Bwookie, is it necessary to know more about the injury before he goes into surgery?"

She paused, "I would prefer it, because I'd like to do something about all the scar tissue. But you're right, Doctor Mallard, I can see with Tim being unable to speak and tell us what happened, it's best we go head and fix the problem now, we'll worry about the scar tissue later."

Gibbs spoke then, "Will the scar tissue be a problem later in his life?"

"It very well could be; it may continue to grow."

Gibbs had Tim's head and shoulders cuddled to his chest and could feel the trembling. "I'd rather we wait, Doctor. This is something Tim obviously is going to need some help with and I know we cannot postpone his back surgery." He felt his son nod against his chest and a palpable sense of relief enveloped him. The doctor nodded, understanding. She stayed a few more minutes and was relieved to find that Tim's pulse rate was calming. There were still a couple of hours before he would be prepped, and she had rounds to do; gesturing to Ducky to join her they quietly left the room.

Gibbs continued to cuddle his son, helping him to calm himself and whispering to him. Tim was finally able to return his head to the pillow and Gibbs saw what he thought he'd felt, his son had been crying. Disturbed that he'd been caused so much distress, he continued to soothe him. Eventually Tim fell asleep and Jethro sat down, sagging into the chair. He had the horrific thought that the best they could hope for was that the injury had happened when Natalie beat the boys after Sarah's birth. Ducky had those medical records and he was quite sure his old friend would be double checking those very soon. His gut was telling him differently though. He thought of everything Tim had said about his life on the streets and realized that obviously there was more to the story. That made him think of Geordie and remembering his need to contact Leon, he looked at his watch. The man was probably on his way to the office, he'd wait another few minutes. Tim's sleep seemed to be peaceful enough, so he put his empty cup into one of Tim's hands, knowing that if he woke up he'd understand Dad had gone for coffee. Then he slipped out and to the doctor's lounge, Doctor Bwookie having told him to help himself to the coffee there. It was Navy coffee, not quite up to Marine standards, but close enough. He peeked in at Tim, still asleep, so he stuck a note on the door to that effect and hoped DiNozzo or anyone else would see it before they barged in. He ducked into the waiting room and called his boss. "Gibbs, how's our boy doing this morning? "

"He had a good night, Leon, Ziva was with him part of the night and then I came in this morning."

"Good, that's very good. Surgery still on for this morning?"

"Yeah, he'll be one of the first they roll in at 0700. Leon, I talked to the kids last night, we've agreed that their brother Geordie should be notified and brought home. He hasn't been here in nearly two years. That's a hell of a tour."

"Yeah, I'll say, ok, is he Geordie McGee or some other name?"

"He uses his father's name, he was also a Marine. Geordie Perry and I have his id# and contact number for him," Gibbs read them to Vance.

"All right, what I'm going to do is go through command for an emergency leave. I don't think it'll be a problem, but if I have to, I'll go to the Commandant. I believe once he hears Tim was injured bringing down the domestic terrorist that blew up Norfolk, I'm pretty sure Ellison will have him on the next flight out of wherever he is."

"As long as he knows Tim's alive!"

"Understood. I left time this morning to get this rolling, I'll let you know. You coming in?"

"After they take him to surgery, yes."

"Check in with me then."

"Will do."

Gibbs hung up, grabbed his coffee and headed back to his son's room. Tim was just beginning to wake up and was looking at the empty coffee cup in his hand when Gibbs walked in.

"Went for coffee."

Tim looked and nodded as Gibbs retrieved the cup and tossed it in the trash. Tim was making faces and it took Gibbs a minute to realize he wanted to smell the coffee.

He laughed, "Yes you can smell, but not even a tiny sip young man, maybe tomorrow." He got the puppy eyes and shook his head. "You can give me all the puppy eyes you want, it won't be worth my life if Ducky or Dr. Bwookie found out I gave you coffee before surgery." Tim rolled his eyes at that.

Tony popped in for a few minutes before going to work and he and Gibbs entertained Tim for the few minutes he had left until the surgical team moved in to start prepping him. When they did, Tony gave his Probie a pat on the arm and left for work. Gibbs thought he would be kicked out but it seemed the good doctor had left instructions that he should stay with the patient until he was ready to roll. So he did, getting one last kiss in before they swabbed Tim down. Tim was signing to him, one handed, until the anesthetic started to take hold.

Gibbs watched them roll his child out of the hospital room and felt fear and grief. He sat down heavily, only to receive a comforting pat on his shoulder. "Buck up, Jethro, he will be fine." Gibbs was so glad to see Ducky he could have hugged him, but knew that would just freak out his old friend. Ducky explained he'd arranged to stay through the morning, knowing Gibbs would need to get to work, and thought they could switch off in the afternoon. Gibbs nodded, deeply touched and relieved. When he walked out into the sunlight, he called the Hubbards and updated them, leaving out the new injury. He thought that was something very personal and it would be up to Tim to share or not.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks to everyone for your reviews, follows and faves! If you're reading and enjoying the story, would love to hear that! Here you go, Happy Reading!

Chapter Six

Homecoming

Having just returned to their base camp after a successful mission, Geordie frowned when his CO called him into his tent. There were no huts here, no buildings and no office, nothing permanent, the squad had moved on to a different location after Geordie's four day leave. He stood in shock as his CO told him of his brother's injuries, the case that had brought it about and the call back to the States. He nodded in agreement as his CO told him to pack his bag; he was on his way home for emergency leave. There was no transport available here, so after dark part of his squad accompanied him down through two villages and along the ridge of a long valley before they came upon the helo, parked and dark, the pilot waiting inside. He waved off his teammates as he climbed in. The helo dropped him at the nearest base, from there he hitched a ride on a supply plane to a larger base and from there he was shuttled home to Anacostia-Bolling. The trip took him nearly four days. The sun was just disappearing as he climbed out of the troop transport and took a quick look around. He spotted Rob and sprinted over to him, grabbing him. He couldn't believe how grown up his baby brother was. There was nothing baby about him anymore; he couldn't believe the difference 20 months made. Rob had morphed from scrawny teen to grown man. When he finally set him down, Rob, grinning, introduced him to the older man standing next to him.

"Geordie, this is our new dad, Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Geordie shook hands, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Gunny! How's Tim?"

He saw from Gibbs' eyes that he approved of Geordie's 'cut to the chase' concern.

Rob answered, "He's doing well, Geordie, his surgery went well, they got the knife tip out and while they had to cut into his muscles, the doctors say they will heal. And the other injury was fixed too."

Geordie frowned, "His voice box? I thought from the update I was given that was a bruise."

"Yes, that is; Rob's referring to a bleed Tim had in his rectum. There was a lot of scar tissue apparently and it was torn when he landed. It's been repaired."

Geordie's tan face paled and he closed his eyes, swaying. Gibbs and Rob each took an arm, afraid the man was going to his knees. Geordie waved them off, "'M ok, just a shock."

Shaking it off, he stood straight and looked at Gibbs, who quickly shook his head. Geordie understood, not the place to talk about it. Rob had been watching Geordie so hadn't seen Gibbs' movement. Geordie reached over and ruffled the kid's hair; he'd always be his older brother after all, and then pulled his head down for a kiss. Rob laughed, "That's what Dad does, says I'm too tall to reach."

"Well you are, Robbie boy, who knew you'd end up being the tallest one in the family?"

"Tim says it's all the growth hormones we ate in fast food leftovers from the dumpsters."

"Yeah, is Sarah tall now too?" He smirked as both Gibbs and Rob laughed at that one. "Guessing not."

They reached Gibbs' car and Geordie whistled, "Oh man, Gunny, sweet ride!" He called out the year, make, statistics and details; Gibbs smiled, putting a hand on a shoulder of each young man. "Guessing you're a car guy, Geordie. That's great! C'mon, let's go see Tim before he falls asleep. You're a surprise, you know. "

"I am? You didn't tell him?"

Rob explained, "At first Sarah and I were afraid he'd be upset that Dad asked for you to come home, because he hates needing help." All three men smirked at that, knowing Tim very well and Rob continued, "And then we weren't sure how long it would take you to get home. So we didn't say anything."

Gibbs gave his smiley smirk, "Yeah Robbie, we didn't say anything, but he's a damn good investigator and he's known for days that something was up." Geordie was glad to hear the man speaking of his brother with such love and pride. He was very aware of the difficult relationship Tim had previously had with his boss. He'd re-read all of Tim's letters written since his last trip home and realized there had been some positive change even before the guy turned out to be his father. So he was prepared to cut the Gunny some slack for now and he would have a chat with him later.

Piling into the car, they sped to the hospital. Geordie thought they were hurrying to beat the end of visiting hours. He asked when those ended and Rob chuckled.

"What?"

"We're Gibbs' kids, we're allowed to stay as late as we want as long as we're quiet and Tim gets enough sleep. Tell him, Dad."

"'S true, Geordie, over the years I've kind of worn the staff down so they don't usually bug me or my team about visiting hours. Ziva and I have been splitting the night shift so one of us is there all night."

"Over the years?"

"Well, since NCIS supports Navy and Marine, Bethesda is where we get treated when we're sick or injured."

"And?"

"Damn Lieutenant, you're good at this, you must..." Gibbs shut his mouth, having been about to say something about Geordie's expertise in interrogation. He caught the younger man's wink.

"Yeah, DiNozzo, you'll meet him at the hospital, averages about one concussion a year and then there was the case of plague he got in the mail."

"Oh yeah, I remember Tim telling us a little bit about that, or was that pneumonia?"

"Pneumonia, Geordie but he got that after he lived through the plague."

"The plague, like from the Middle Ages?" The Gunny and his little brother both nodded. "And when Tim was mauled by that dog, he was treated there, right?"

Rob answered a little too quickly, "Yeah. He was at Bethesda for about a week."

Gibbs said quietly, "I wasn't there for him; by the end of the day he was bitten, we'd been flown downriver."

Geordie understood the old Special Forces terminology. The case had required them to leave the country and it was still classified.

"He knows that now, right?"

"Yeah. And I know now everything that happened that day."

"Yeah, that was bad and no offense but if I ever meet Abby Sciuto she's in big trouble. But you're making it up to him now."

"Doing my best; got a lot of ground to cover. By the way, Abby is out of the picture."

"Wow. Ok, good, again no offense, but I hope she stays out of the picture. You know, Tim loves you, he always has, well maybe at first it was hero worship, but I re-read all his letters from the past 18 months on the way home and its clear things were improving between you two."

"Thanks Geordie, that means a lot knowing that."

"You know with Tim, it's best to apologize, promise to try to change and go forward. He hates re-hashing old problems."

"Yeah, I've been picking up on that, good to have confirmation."

Rob was drowsing in the backseat, loving the rumble of his dad and his oldest brother's voices. It had only been a few days, but he was really missing Tim's voice and looked forward to the day he would hear it again.

They pulled into the hospital parking lot and Gibbs parked in the same spot he and Rob had left vacant two hours earlier. Rob exclaimed and Gibbs just gave him his smirky smile. They walked into the lobby, Geordie striding ahead and the young, pretty receptionist opened her mouth to tell him visiting hours were nearly over, no new visitors were allowed in at this time and then she saw Gibbs and snapped her mouth shut.

Rob smiled at her as they walked by and she couldn't help but respond to the young man's twinkling eyes. As they walked to the elevators, the older man put his hand on the youngest one's shoulder. "Nice touch, Rob. Going to chat with her later?"

"I might but I don't have time for a girlfriend, Dad."

"One date is not a girlfriend, kiddo."

Geordie snorted, "I've heard about you, Gunny, I heard once that one date was an engagement."

Gibbs sighed. "No escaping that one, Lieutenant, whatever you heard is probably true."

"You know, your name is still on the wall at SPF HQ."

"Obviously the old farts are still running the place; they need to change the décor."

"Nope, you're up there along with all the others with the same type of record. From WW I through this year."

Rob looked at his dad, thinking _Wow;_ _he was that good of a sniper? Oh, am I supposed to know that? _

His dad, seeming to read his mind, put his hand on his neck, "That's ok Doc, I know you know."

Rob grinned, "You never told Tim and the others about your record though, did you?"

"No, it's in the past. Old history."

"But you still use your...um oh look, there's Ziva."

Rob had been about to reveal he knew Gibbs still used his sniper rifle on occasion and he did know he wasn't supposed to know that. Geordie looked over at him, and gave him a wink which made him feel better.

Ziva turned just as Gibbs and the others emerged from the elevator. Smiling, she met them in the corridor outside Tim's room. The door was closed and the sounds of a movie could be faintly heard.

"Tony and Sarah are watching some movie with Tim. Hello, Geordie, I am Ziva."

"Hello, Ziva; I'm very happy to finally meet you. A belated welcome to the family."

"Thank you. Your brother is still awake; perhaps we can talk more later?"

Geordie nodded, he already knew he approved of her but reading about her in letters was much different than meeting her in person. He was proud of Tim for following his heart, he knew he hadn't had much luck in the romance department but he bet Tim had forgotten all about those miseries by now.

"So how is this going to work, I'm just going to bust in there?" Gibbs shook his head, "Your sister and brother have this all planned out."

Rob nodded at Ziva; taking her cue, she opened the door and stuck her head in. "Sarah, may I see you for a moment?" Sarah tried not to run, knowing that meant Geordie was here.

Tony, having not paid much attention to the kids' plans, played his role perfectly, ignoring everything but the movie, still giving his usual 'play by play' for Tim. Tim was no longer watching the movie or listening to Tony; he was trying to keep a grin off his face, knowing that whatever surprise had been cooked up for him was about to be presented. He didn't want to spoil everyone's surprise; however he was really looking forward to whatever 'it' was. He had tried very hard not to set his heart on the surprise being a 'who' and told himself very firmly that he would be happy with whatever it was.

After Sarah had greeted Geordie and the two younger siblings had had a hug together with him, they stood back, grinning. They had insisted that Gibbs follow Geordie in, but he insisted that he would go in and pull Tony out, giving the siblings some privacy. He and Ziva would join them after a bit. He got his way. He actually gave the plan a little twist by following Rob and Sarah into the room and pulling Tony out while Geordie walked in.

Gibbs pulling Tony out diverted Tim's attention for a few seconds, just to make it more fun, and then he saw Geordie and his grin threatened to split his face in two. He held his arms out and Geordie went right into them. The younger pair eventually snuggled in and the four of them relaxed into a family hug. With Tim's voice still absent, it was up to Geordie to tell them what he could of his trip home. After a few minutes, Tim signed to Rob to get the others. Geordie was impressed, Rob knowing ASL was new. When he said so, Sarah pulled a face and signed, "Me too." He laughed and pulled her in for a little sister hug. Tim signed that he and Ziva had starting teaching them one winter night when the four of them were snowed in at Tim and Ziva's home. While Tim was signing, Rob re-entered the room, followed by Ziva and their dad. Geordie knew they had questions for him; he also knew that Gibbs and Ziva especially would understand he wouldn't be able to tell them much. He started the conversation by asking Ziva some general questions about Mossad. Ziva laughingly answered the best she could, then turned the table on him, asking him what he could tell them.

Geordie replied, "Well, I've been on the planet, haven't gone visiting any space neighbors yet. Moved around some as always, had a nice little hut to myself for awhile, that's where I was when I got all the family letters. Had some leave then, so it was nice to relax and catch up on the family news." He laughed, "Picture this, I went from a letter telling me you and Ziva had found a place together to a letter that said oh by the way my boss is my father!"

They all laughed and he corrected himself, "No, that's not the right order. I remember I was…concerned… when I saw the envelope from Gibbs but then found your last letter, Tim, telling me not to worry, so then I relaxed and read the rest. And…" he turned to Gibbs, "regarding your question to me and the formal letter from the State of Virginia, yes, I would be proud to be your son and I'll sign the adoption agreement letter and send it back to them while I'm home."

Gibbs pulled him into a hug while the others quietly cheered and Tim's massive grin reappeared. "Just one thing, Gunny, I keep my father's name." Gibbs nodded, "Of course, Geordie."

The door swung open and Dr. Bwookie entered and stopped, looked at the crowd. "Gibbs…"

"Family reunion, Doc, my oldest boy Geordie just got home – emergency leave." Geordie stood and introduced himself, "Lieutenant Geordie Perry, Doctor, thank you for helping my little brother." The doctor shook his hand and peered over at Gibbs, "So how many kids _do_ you have?"

He grinned, "7."

"Seven?"

"Yep. You've met all but one of them and she's going to be away for awhile."

Tim frowned, _that meant Abby, what was going on? _

"Oh, I hadn't realized Agent DiNozzo is one of the tribe."

Rob piped up, "Yeah he is, but his father is alive and won't let Dad adopt him."

The group chuckled. "Well, welcome home, Lieutenant Geordie and folks, keep the noise down and don't stay too late. Who's staying tonight?"

Ziva, Gibbs and Geordie raised their hands. Tim shook his head and signed to his brother, "You need to sleep tonight, get settled, you can stay tomorrow night and every night after that." Geordie scowled but agreed. He knew he needed sleep; he hadn't slept on his various modes of transportation. "Geordie, we haven't had a chance to talk about this; I'm hoping you'll bunk at my place while you're home. Sarah and Rob have been staying and I figure it'd be a good chance, in between seeing Tim, to get to know each other a little better."

"Sounds good, Gunny."

The doctor shook her head at them, took Tim's vitals, and examined the bruising on his neck. "That's doing nicely, Timothy, in another few days when it starts to exhibit more yellow coloring, we'll let you try whispering. But nothing until I say so; got it?" Tim nodded his understanding.

The doctor left and Gibbs looked at his kids. Sarah slipped out to get Tony. She found him in the waiting room playing Tetris on his phone.

"Sorry Tony, you should have come in with Ziva and Dad."

"Nah, lil sis, you guys needed to catch up, I'm good." However, he followed her back into the room and was finally introduced to Geordie. He laughed at Rob's re-telling of Gibbs and his seven kids.

Gibbs nodded and then got serious. "I haven't had a chance to let you know what's going on at NCIS, however this is confidential. Sarah, Rob, Geordie, sorry guys, but if you could give us twenty minutes? Maybe take Geordie to the cafeteria; Geordie, the good coffee is in the doctor's lounge here, Rob can show you where it is. And Dr. Bwookie gave us permission; I've made a donation, so we're set."

"Thanks, relieved to know there's good coffee here at all. Yeah, c'mon sibs, we can go catch up while these Special Agents do some business."

The three left. Gibbs noticed that all three of his agents were tense; he shook his head, "Tony, Ziva, thank you for putting Ducky and me straight the other night, yeah I said that. I've had my eyes opened over the last few months, but Ducky hadn't realized his part of it."

He paused, noticing Tim was gesturing to Tony to come around the other side of his bed; DiNozzo sat on the side of the bed and grabbed Tim's hand. Ziva was holding Tim's other hand. He swallowed past the lump in his throat, realizing once again the strong bond between his three agents. Whatever else they were to each other, they also maintained their team bond and he was grateful for that.

"Tim, to bring you up to date. Ducky and I have been watching Abby for the last few months, worried about her emotional and mental balance. And yeah, we uncovered your reports and you and I will talk about that later. There was an incident with her when Tony went to update her on your condition. Once Tony told us, Ducky took everything to the Director; Vance called me in and also said, Tony, that he would need your write-up on what happened the night Tim was injured. "

Tony nodded and Tim looked puzzled then decided he probably didn't want to know. If nobody had told him, it was bad; he'd eventually find out, but not right now.

Gibbs continued, "Vance reviewed the evidence – and Tim's extra reports, and yeah, Tim when you can speak again you'll be having a little chat about that, but I wouldn't worry about it. The Director took a few days to review everything, did some interviews and I'm sure he spoke with Legal and HR and since this directly affects our team and our work, the Legal Dept. gave me permission to tell you three. Bottom line is that Abby has been removed from her job. She was offered a choice of getting psychiatric help and the possibility of coming back to work when she's better, cleared by an approved physician and can pass a psych eval - or to take termination, which would basically mean she'd lose her security clearance, so no other government jobs. She chose the psychiatric help. She's in a hospital now, no, not this one Tony, being evaluated. She's not allowed visitors for now. "

There was silence and Gibbs saw that all three were simultaneously upset and relieved. He saw Tim's fingers moving. "Sign again, son, I missed that."

"Luca, is she near him?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, Abby opted for treatment at a hospital near Luca and his family. When she's released she'll likely stay with them until she's cleared to return to work. "

"Boss, will she really be allowed to come back to NCIS? Does anyone else know?"

"Having any kind of illness is a very private thing, Tony, and protected by privacy laws. I don't know how many other people know, I do know Vance's intent was to keep it to the absolutely necessary few. And yes, she will be allowed to come back. Vance is making some changes though, ones I know Jenny also wanted to implement but Abby talked her out of. The lab will have a supervising forensic scientist and she will report to that person. There will also be other forensic techs, possibly assistants, I haven't heard yet."

"But she is not there now, Gibbs, what have people been told? I have not heard anything." Tony nodded in agreement.

"As Team Leaders, we were told she had been called away due to a family illness and that she might not be back for several weeks or months. Vance made it clear that there was a zero tolerance policy for gossip or rumors."

"But you already knew, Boss, why did you have to sit in on the Team Leaders meeting if you al…oh you had to be there or people would know something was up, that you already knew."

"Exactly."

They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Tony said, "This is going to sound strange, but in a way I'm relieved it's an illness, something that's treatable because Boss, I know I've been bad to Tim, but she's been horrible to him and never showed the least bit of remorse."

"I know Tony, or I know that now. And we'll see how she does. I don't know what was the illness growing in her and what is her personality."

Ziva exclaimed softly as she handed Tim a tissue. "We love you, Timothy, and all of us grieve that we have not been there for you in the past."

He sighed deeply, wincing a little and then looking at his dad, signed that he didn't want Abby's treatment of him hanging over anyone's heads anymore, it was done, finished and forgiven. Gibbs sat on the edge of the bed and the four of them had a few quiet moments together.

When the other three came back they were told that Abby would be away for a few weeks, possibly longer. Satisfied that she wouldn't be bothering Tim here or likely during his recovery, they simply nodded. Ziva, knowing Tim was exhausted, looked at Gibbs and he smiled. "Ok folks, time to let the patient get some sleep. We can all see him tomorrow." Tony gave him a head rub, the others kissed him good night and they walked out to the parking lot together. Bidding them all good night, Tony took off and the rest of them piled into Gibbs' car.

When they got to the house, Rob insisted on carrying Geordie's bag in. "You'll be staying in the boys' room with me, Geordie, there's a double and a twin; you can have the double."

"Nah, wouldn't know what to do with a double, Robbie boy, you sleep in that and I'll take the twin. I'll probably end up on the floor anyway." He turned to his sister, "and what about you, Miss Gets Her Own Room."

"I sleep in Kelly's old room, across the hall from you guys." Geordie didn't know who Kelly was, but just went with it, thinking he'd ask Rob later.

Gibbs had heard and figured he should know, "Kelly was my daughter, Geordie. She and her mother, Shannon, my first wife, were killed when Kelly was 8."

Geordie swallowed and then slung his arm around his new dad's shoulders. "And you were off protecting the country, right? " Gibbs nodded.

"Nobody should have to make that kind of sacrifice, Gunny. I'm glad you're still here, for all of us." Gibbs gave him a tired smile and nodded.

Rob gave Geordie a quick tour of the house and Geordie, noticing the pillow and blanket folded neatly on one end of the couch, lifted one eyebrow at Gibbs. "Don't sweat it Lieutenant, been sleeping there off and on for years. I'm up at 0200 to relieve Ziva at the hospital, just easier if I'm down here." Geordie pursed his lips but didn't say anything. Gibbs laughed to himself, realizing he now had a Marine officer in the family. They don't come any more bullheaded than that! He smirked to himself, except maybe grad students, Special Agents, Mossad operatives and former gunnery sergeants. As far as he could tell, Rob was the only one in the family who wasn't as stubborn as a mule.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Getting to Know You

Gibbs again woke before the alarm and was amused but not surprised when Geordie wandered downstairs as he was pouring their coffee. He pointed to him, "Tim wanted you to get some sleep. If you can't sleep, at least try to rest."

"Gunny, I don't even know how many time zones I went through on the way home, going to take me a day or so to acclimate."

Gibbs nodded. "Did you sleep at all?"

"Yeah, once I climbed out of that nest of downy feathers called a mattress and found the floor." Gibbs laughed, remembering those days when he'd come home from a deployment, start out in bed and end up on the floor.

"Yeah, don't miss that part at all." He paused, "This is your home now, whenever you want. Rob and Sarah have gotten used to it, they still have their places but they know they can just come in and bunk. Tim and Ziva too, although they're far less likely to stay over. Here, I had a key made for you."

Geordie took it and noticed the Gunny looking at it with a funny expression on this face. "The key have a special meaning, Gunny?"

"Nah, not the key itself. Just that after Kelly and Shannon died, I quit locking the door to this place, didn't even have a lock on the door for years. It wasn't until that week Tim was under the gun with the FBI that I started locking it again – he stayed here with me for a couple of nights. It was really the first time I felt I had something in my life worth protecting again. And now I have the toughest deadbolt I could find on that door and the backdoor too. Got a family under my roof."

"From what Tim has told me over the years, you've had a family for quite some time, Gunny."

"Yeah, but they weren't here, I protected them out there but mostly they weren't here."

"But you were and protecting yourself would have pleased them, made them worry less."

"Huh, never looked at it that way, son. " He lightly punched his arm, "You're ok, even if you are an officer."

Geordie snorted. "You know why I'm an officer?"

"Because you wanted to be?"

"Nope, I just wanted to be a leatherneck, like my dad; my goal was to make it through high school and enlist. Then I met the McGee clan and things changed. I never lived with them, I had a place in a tent with a bunch of guys I trusted, didn't want to give that up and after they left the shelter, Timmy and the kids were only three tents away. But they made me a part of their family, I was the only one Tim trusted with the kids and their stuff. When I got to my senior year in high school, Ellen had been gone from their lives for a year or so and Tim hated that he still had to use her name for anything that needed a parent's name. He was only a year behind me in school by that time, so he was a junior when I was a senior. He'd already been approached by several colleges and universities and had stacks of applications for scholarships and grants. But he had no one to sign, no legal guardian, so he couldn't submit anything. He wasn't worried, he figured he'd work until he was 18 and of legal age to sign the paperwork himself. But I couldn't let him do that, wait nearly 4 years to start his college career and in the meantime, he'd still need a work permit signed by a guardian for any legitimate job. I was talking with a recruiter about my enlistment and happened to mention some of that. And he came up with the idea of my going to college for two years, that would give me more rank possibilities in the Corps and I would be around to become legal guardian for Tim when I turned 18 – I didn't mention the little kids. I thought about it, knew my dad would approve because I'd be helping Tim and the sibs. I didn't mention it to Tim because I knew he'd object to me putting off enlisting. So on my 18th birthday, I filed guardianship papers for the three kids and they were approved. I did my two years of college, won some scholarships and ended up getting my Bachelors. The McGees stayed under my guardianship until Tim turned 18, then he formally adopted Rob and me and assumed guardianship of the family."

"Wow, that's an amazing story, Geordie, I know your father would be very proud of you. Hell, I'd be proud of you even if I didn't know you all! And by the way, that's another mystery solved, thanks. Could not figure out how Tim managed to adopt a brother older than him."

The two laughed and then realizing the time, Gibbs had a very quick shower, dressed, grabbed his travel mug, thoughtfully filled by his newest son, and patting him on the back, headed out the door.

Ziva was awake when he entered Tim's room and he saw that Tim must have been awake too as they both had slightly swollen lips and smiles on their faces. He smirked at Ziva; then gave her a light smack on the back of her head. Her eyes widened but she just smirked back at him. Once she left, he settled into the chair and reached out for Tim's hand. He admitted he was getting to be a soppy guy but he didn't care. He loved his family and wasn't about to hide or hold back any affection. He dozed off and only woke again when someone brought coffee into the room. Struggling to open his eyes, he saw he'd slept for nearly three hours and that his visitors were his newest and his youngest. Shaking his head, he looked at Rob with a question.

"I got called off work, Dad, don't have to be to class until later this morning, thought I'd come hang out with you guys." The two had stopped and picked up coffee and pastry for all of them, including one for Tony as he usually dropped by before work. Rob decided to wait to eat his treat; Geordie and their dad happily devoured theirs.

When they finished, Geordie started asking Rob questions about his classes. Rob lit up, he always wanted to talk about school and he entertained them with stories of his favorite and least favorite topics, the fact that he wanted to specialize in pediatrics and work at the new clinic in Bayopolis. "I've dreamt of having my own clinic since I was a kid. And I want to help little kids there, the ones who have no one to speak for them. It's wonderful that there's attention on the kids in Africa and wherever there are problems, but we know, our family knows firsthand, that there are plenty of kids here who need help when they're too young to speak for themselves. " Geordie, listening to him, knew that Rob had been one of those kids himself and if it hadn't been for Tim that day…he mused, remembering the day they met little Robbie.

Flashback

_Tim pulled their cases and an extra bag for cans or bottles while Geordie walked beside him with Sarah on his shoulders, pulling his own case. They were just returning from the clinic where Dr. Kelly had finally removed Tim's ugly black boots, his walking casts. They were moving slowly down the sidewalk looking for anything they could find that would bring money or food. As they approached a busy cross street, they spotted a tiny boy looking as if he was about to run into the street in front of a tidal wave of cars moving in his direction. He was so small he probably wouldn't be seen in time by any of the drivers. Tim called out to Geordie to stay with Sarah as he dropped their cases and ran on newly healed legs to catch the kid. He grabbed his arm as the little one was taking a step off the curb and swung him up into his arms. The driver in the nearest car pulled over and stopped, furious that these children had let this little boy get away from them. "What is the matter with you, young man, letting that child run loose like that, I might have hit him." _

_The little boy was screaming with his head buried in Tim's shoulder and he looked at the woman sadly, "Ma'am, I don't know him; we were walking down the sidewalk and saw him about to run into the street, I promise you I'd never take my eyes off a baby like this." _

_"Oh, I am so sorry, young man, please forgive me for jumping to conclusions. Is there no one around for him?" _

_"We'll find out, ma'am, we live around here." _

_"Well, perhaps you could take him for a treat, cheer him up. Here, please, allow me to help" _

_She handed Tim a bill of some denomination, he was busy trying to comfort the little boy and stuffed it into his pocket, happy to have whatever she'd given him._

_"Thank you ma'am, that's very kind of you. We'll get him something and find his mom or dad." Horns blared as drivers stuck behind the woman's car impatiently waited to move forward. _

_"I guess I'd better go. Good luck, young man." _

_He nodded to her as she got back in her car and left. He moved the boy around to his hip so he could see his face. _

_"Hey little guy, it's ok, we've got you. Man, you are really little, aren't you? What's your name?" _

_"Mama." _

_"Um, no, betting that's not your name, but we'll try to find your mama, ok?" _

_The boy looked at him, sighed and then patted Tim's cheek. "Mama". _

_Sarah giggled, "He tinks yowr his mama, Timmy." _

_Geordie laughed, "Why not, you're Sarah's mama!" _

_"He'th not my mama, Geowrdie, hesh my Timpa." _

_"Timpa, what's that?" _

_Tim sighed. "It's what she called my brother Patrick and me when she was learning to talk. Tim for me and Pa for Patrick." _

_"Oh, sorry. But now I think it means Pa, like you're her pa." _

_Sarah giggled again, "Yah, Timmy, you mah pa." _

_Timmy shook his head at her silliness, looking again at the toddler in his arms. _

_"I'm Tim, what's your name?" The boy had been following the others' conversation closely and now he announced, "I Wobbie." _

_"Wobbie…or Robbie." _

_"Yesh, Wobbie." _

_"Ok, Robbie it is. Robbie, can you point where you saw your mama?" _

_Robbie's face clouded up and he whimpered, pointing down the street. "Mama go fasht." _

_"She went too fast?" _

_Robbie nodded, now squirming to get down. "Me find Mama." _

_Tim held him up higher as his legs weren't quite ready yet for bending enough to squat and he wanted to see his face. _

_"Robbie, we're going the same way, we'll help you look for your mama." _

_ The kid reached out and patted Tim on the face again. "Ok Timpa, now?" _

_They laughed, Geordie helped Tim pick up his and Sarah's cases and they continued their walk toward the camp. When they got to the tents, they saw a woman looking in their direction and Robbie squirmed to get down, _

_"Pu' me down Timpa, dat mama." _

_ Geordie stayed behind with Sarah and their cases while Tim, still carrying Robbie, moved toward the woman. _

_"Ma'am, is this your little boy?" _

_"Oh yeah, wondered where he'd gone off to." _

_"We found him about to run into the street." She shrugged and turned to move away. Robbie started crying "Mama, I sowry, you go fasht." _

_The woman turned her head back towards them, "Gotta keep up, kid, or you're on your own." _

_Tim was horrified but then realized he might be able to help the little boy and themselves. "Ma'am, you know with him you're eligible to stay at the shelter." _

_"Nah, I like my freedom, don't want to be locked in at night, have to take care of him…" She had turned to face them and now pointed her chin toward Robbie. _

_He was quietly crying, head buried once again in Tim's shoulder. "If you take my sister and me with you to the shelter, I'll take care of him. You won't have to do anything but say you're our mother." _

_"Why?" _

_"Why should you do this?" _

_"Yeah." _

_"Because you get to be in a building with a roof and walls and sleep on cots instead of the ground; they have showers and washing machines. And food, they serve breakfast and kids get an afternoon snack and sometimes they serve dinner too. And families get to enter an hour early and leave an hour later every day." _

_"So? What makes you think I want any of that?" _

_"Well, uh, it seems like you like to move fast and Robbie's too little to do that. So I could take care of him for you, my sister is little too so it wouldn't be a problem. You wouldn't have to worry about him anymore." _

_She snorted, "I don't worry about him now, kid. I barely remember I have him half the time." _

_Now Tim was really mad and he wanted her to agree to the shelter so he could take care of Robbie. No little kid should be forgotten like that. She looked at his face and softened a little, "So tell me what I'd have to do." _

_"You come with us to the shelter and tell the registrar that all three of us, my sister, me and Robbie, are your kids. Then they'll give you blankets for the cots and if they have dinner, we'll all eat. You can shower, wash your clothes, do whatever you want; I'll take care of Robbie." _

_"And we have to leave in the morning?" _

_"Yes ma'am, we'd have to leave by 9 and then the shelter closes to clean. They open up for the families at 4, so you'd have to be back by then so we can go in." _

_"You can't just go in by yourselves?" _

_"No ma'am, you'd have to be there every day at 4." _

_"Stop calling me ma'am, will you kid? My name's Ellen, Ellen Brill. What's your name?" _

_Tim told her their names and she eventually agreed to go to the the shelter with them. _

_Tim was happy, but sad that Geordie couldn't come with them. Boys had to move to the men's side of the shelter when they were twelve, so Geordie, without a male sponsor, wouldn't be allowed to stay. He told Timmy he didn't want to go there anyway, he was fine with the tents and his freedom. Tim made him promise that they would still be friends and Geordie, who in three weeks had really grown to like Timmy and Sarah, agreed. He watched as they gathered their belongings, told Juanita the tent was available and walked off with Ellen, Tim dragging their cases while Sarah and Robbie walked on either side of him, each holding on to one of his little fingers. _

He started out of his reverie, looking up to see his brothers and the Gunny; he hadn't worked his way to thinking of him as "Dad" yet, smirking at him. "Sorry, was thinking about the day Tim saved Robbie."

Robbie smiled; the Gunny looked at Tim who pointed to Geordie. Nodding his acceptance as current family storyteller, he told the tale of the day the three of them had become the four of them.

When the aide came in with Tim's breakfast, she found the patient asleep with his father, brother and a new guy surrounding him. She woke Tim, not wanting his oatmeal to get cold and congealed, carefully raising the bed, which woke the others. Dad looked at his watch and took off for work; brother and the new guy, both of whom were really hot, stayed to help Tim eat his breakfast. She flirted with them for a few minutes and then went back to her meal deliveries.

Tim ate his oatmeal, enjoying the heat on his throat. He took one piece of toast and then noticed Rob with a pastry bag. He tapped his fork at them and grinning, he was handed the bag. He grinned as he dug out his favorite, a bear claw. Just as he bit into it, DiNozzo walked into the room and stopped when he smelled pastry.

Rob laughed and passed him the bag and Geordie getting up to move around, offered the chair to him.

"No thanks, man, if I sit down I'll stay down, didn't sleep much last night. " Tim motioned him over and made a little show of feeling his forehead for a fever.

"What're you doing Probie? I'm not sick; I just couldn't sleep!"

Tim looked at him, something in his eyes wasn't right. He patted the bed and then gave his brothers a look. They got the message, edging out of the room, saying, "Hey Tim, Tony, we're going to the cafeteria for uh..tea, for Ducky when he comes in."

Tim smiled and looked at Tony. "Thanks man. I…you know things have been really rough lately between me and Wendy?" Tim nodded. "I decided last night that this just isn't working. It's too hard and I'm not even sure it's right for me – or for her either."

Tim signed a question. "No, I haven't talked to her yet; just tossed and turned all night."

He watched Tim's hands. "Yeah, it's partly the kid, ok, it's all the kid, I think; I'm the first serious guy to come along after the divorce and I remember how much I hated my first stepmother after my mom died, but this kid doesn't want to relate to me at all. "

He watched again as Tim asked him if he thought he might be trying too hard. "I don't know; you know I'm no good with kids. People always accuse me of acting like a kid but the kids don't seem to think that."

Tim shook his head and signed again. "What have I done with him? Well, I thought about bowling because kids do that, so I suggested the three of us go bowling. No, got sneered at. Then I suggested a movie, I was very careful to pick one that was in his age group. That was even worse."

Tim signed another question and Tony answered very quickly. "What does he like to do? Play games and watch TV, like any kid."

He watched Tim's hands again, "Does he like to…what? Oh read. I don't know, never occurred to me to ask. He likes football but when I tried to talk to him about it, he got huffy, said he and his dad 'do football'."

Tim looked at him sadly, alarming Tony. "What, so I'm right, there's nothing I can do?"

Tim thought for a moment and then carefully signed, "Nothing is going to work with this kid. The divorce sounds too new and raw. Maybe you stop trying to relate to him and just let him know you'll treat his mom with respect, leave it like that. "

"What am I going to tell Wendy?"

Tim signed, "The truth, that you think the kid is still dealing with the divorce and is not interested in a 'new pal'."

"I'll tell her I spoke with a child rearing expert."

"Yeah, right. C'mere so I can slap your head." They talked for a little bit longer and then Tony left for work. Tim hit the button to decline the bed a bit, waiting for Rob and Geordie to return. He was still a little sore and sitting up put a little more pressure than was comfortable on his backside.

He sighed, really not wanting to think about that…but he guessed he was going to have to. He thought he had come to terms with it years ago, but hearing about the scar tissue and the bleed had felt like it hit him in the face and it wasn't over. The scar tissue still had to be dealt with. He hoped Geordie didn't know, he'd always felt so guilty when the truth was that both of them had been tricked.

He looked up as his brothers trooped back into the room. Rob picked up his jacket, "Sarah called; she needs a ride, so I'm going to go get her and then go on to class."

He looked at Geordie, "See you later, Geo." Geordie grinned at the old nickname and ruffled the kid's hair, "Tell Sis hello. Have fun in class." Rob leaned over and kissed Tim goodbye and got another hair ruffle. "Guys, enough, I'm not five!"

Laughing, he left the room and Geordie looked after him, shaking his head. "Damn, you did a good job with him, Timmo. Both of them. "

Tim grabbed his hand and motioned between the two of them. Geordie understood his meaning.

"Yeah, I guess I helped some, huh? Sure glad we stayed family, Bro." He sat on the edge of the bed. "Got something to talk to you about, Tim, serious stuff." Tim nodded. "Don't think I want to go back out there. Had a couple of close calls, real close, no I'm fine, but seeing you, the kids, Ziva and the Gunny and I know there's a whole bunch of people I haven't met yet; I'm missing all this, Tim. I think I've done my bit with the Marines or at least with Special Forces, I want to come home." Tim's face lit up and he signed his heartfelt approval to his brother, his first friend after Patrick died.

After they chatted about this for awhile, Geordie got quiet. Tim looked at him and knew, he just knew.

He signed to him, "Who?" Geordie looked at him, "Robbie, by accident." I thought he was talking about your larynx and Gunny explained and then gave me a look so I knew not to ask. Does he know?"

Tim shook his head. "You going to tell him?" Tim closed his eyes, nodding again.

"Hey, this is me, don't shut me out, please, Timmy. " Tim looked at him and then signed, asking him "You still blame yourself?"

"Hell yes, because I am to blame. I'm the one that dragged you there, insisted that Eric kid wouldn't lie to us."

"Not your fault, you didn't know."

Geordie's voice was husky, "But I should have known. I was the older one, Timmy, I was the one responsible. It should have happened to me."

Tim reached out and grabbed his shirt, shaking him. He let go and signed furiously, "Don't you ever say that to me again. Never! Got that? It shouldn't have happened to anyone!"

Heartsick and tired, Geordie put his head down on the bed and the two huddled together. Gibbs found them that way when he popped in for a visit after dropping off a deposition to the local PD. At first he thought they were just sleeping in a cuddle, finally noticing the pale trail of tears on Tim's face and the troubled look on Geordie's face. He stood there for a minute wondering and then it hit him, what they might have been talking about. He hoped he was wrong, but his gut was telling him, had been telling him since the doc told them about the scar tissue. He managed to get to the small sofa in the room, sat with his head in his hands. He must have made some noise because Geordie woke up, suddenly sitting up, alert. He turned and saw the Gunny on the sofa, looking very sad and angry.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Brothers and Sons

Wondering what else could possibly have happened, Geordie started to move over to him and then looking again, realized he'd figured it out, Tim's secret, hell, their secret. All these years and now it was coming back to bite them or bite Tim. No matter what good he accomplished in his life, as the elder he was still at fault. It had been his decision to go.

Gibbs looked up, his eyes questioning. Geordie gestured to him, "C'mon, let's go someplace private, Tim's not ready to talk about it. " Each gave Tim a quick kiss and found Gibbs' favorite nurse, asking her for a room with some privacy so they could talk. Not as much of a rule breaker as Gibbs had hoped, she was finally persuaded to give them a key to a private room. The two men entered and Geordie took a deep breath. "Can't believe this is coming back to haunt him…us. It…oh geez. Ok, Gunny, just gonna spill it. "

Gibbs nodded.

"It was about six weeks after they got to Bayopolis. They were staying at the shelter whenever Ellen showed up at night, but she wasn't always there, so then they'd come back to the camp. Tim was having a tough time keeping the three of them fed, especially on the days Ellen didn't show. You can only collect so many cans and bottles, find so many scraps in the dumpster and school hadn't started yet so he didn't have anyone paying him yet to tutor or do their homework. We'd split the lady's $20, the lady who almost hit Rob, 4 ways and he'd fed the kids and him for several days with that. Mine was gone too; $5.00 will only stretch so far no matter how careful you are. So we were hungry and he was scared, scared he was going to have to let Sarah go into foster care and Rob would have to go back to being ignored and abused by his mother. One of the older boys in the camp came to me and asked about him, saying he had friends who wanted to meet him, heard he was really smart and they'd pay him to help them on a project. I thought it was students, you know, college students or something like that. Eric was the kid's name and I knew him from around, didn't know anything bad about him. I talked to Timmy, he was nervous, but he was more scared of losing Sarah and Rob than anything else. So we decided to do it. We were supposed to meet at night; Tim asked one of the other ladies at the shelter who was more reliable than Ellen to watch Sarah and Rob that night. He told Lu he had found work and needed to leave their stuff for a few hours, and she let him put it – plus mine – in her office and locked it up. She was really busy; otherwise I like to think she would have questioned Tim more. So we went to the park where we were supposed to meet these guys for the project and Eric was there, he introduced us to a guy. The guy said we'd have to go in the car to where the others were, said there were two places, two projects and they wanted me on one and Tim on the other one. They split us up into two cars. When I got into the car with another guy who was there, he didn't say anything, just started the car and drove around for awhile. He asked me how old I was and I told him and he asked me," Geordie bit back a sob, "if I had any pubic hair yet. I said yes and he nodded and drove around for a couple of hours. He asked if I was hungry then went through a drive through somewhere and got me two hamburgers. I asked him about my project and he said I was too old, it had been canceled. Eventually he drove me back to the park, gave me some money and let me out. I found Timmy on the grass; crying and I could see he was banged up, like someone beat him. His pants were torn and wet. Somehow I got him back to the shelter and saw his pants were all bloody. Miss Lu was there and she helped us, she cleaned Tim up and called Dr. Kelly who said to meet us at the clinic. Miss Lu took us in her car; she had Timmy lying on his stomach on a towel. Dr. Kelly made me stay in the waiting room but Miss Lu was in there with Timmy so I didn't worry. They were in there for a long time and then they came out. Timmy was limping but he wasn't crying anymore and I could see his eyes looked funny, like he was on drugs. Dr. Kelly said she had given him a shot for the pain and she gave Miss Lu 2 bottles of pills, she said one was painkillers, I didn't know what the other one was. Tim slept in Lu's office that night and for the next few nights and I was allowed to stay in the shelter with Sarah and Rob. Miss Lu called it a family emergency so the others wouldn't complain. We brought Tim food in the office, Miss Lu made sure he ate, I found out later the doctor had given Lu some money to feed him and the kids while he was sick. I got to eat with them, so I held onto the money the guy gave me and when Tim was better, I gave it to him. I never told him where I got it; he hadn't gotten paid so probably figured I hadn't either. " Geordie took a deep breath.

"How many?"

"One as far as I know."

"Is he still alive?" Geordie looked at the wall. "Lieutenant, . ?

"No Dad." Geordie finally lost it and Gibbs held onto him. "But it wasn't either of us, I swear."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"You have an idea."

"Yes."

"Is that person still around, still free?"

"Yes."

"Ok."

"What about the kid who lured you there, that Eric?"

"He got busted for drugs a few months later, trying to sell some painkillers to an undercover cop. Heard he had a tough life in prison."

"Wonder where he got those painkillers. Huh, well, you reap what you sow."

"And the Doc…Kelly? Did she report Tim's rape to the police?"

"Yeah, a detective came over while Tim was still recuperating in Lu's office, sat in there and interviewed him. Lu was in there too, had to because he was a minor and Ellen wasn't around."

"He do anything with the case, do you know?"

"Well, there was no arrest, but someone found out who it was, so guessing that answer is not much."

"Remember his name?" Geordie looked at him. "The detective?"

Gibbs nodded, "Just going to have a chat with him if he's still working. Otherwise, no reason."

"Just remember could have been the brass that buried the case."

"Because Tim was just a homeless kid?"

"And maybe because the rapist was someone in high places."

"Who?" Geordie told him and Gibbs vaguely remembered the name as someone who had been a big shot in Bayopolis politics at one time before he was found dead in a ditch, he didn't remember the cause of death. That answered that question although he still intended to have a quiet chat with the detective, whose name Geordie also told him.

"You did good, son, thankful you weren't hurt too."

When Geordie looked at him with defiant eyes, Gibbs gave him a soft headslap.

"Knock it off. It was no more your fault than Tim's. Neither of you! You were kids and you trusted that creep Eric, right? . .fault." Geordie shook his head and Gibbs grabbed him, "Does Tim know you blame yourself? He does, doesn't he? Geordie, think about how that makes him feel. You need to give it up, son, for both your sakes. This is going to be around until the doctors decide what to do about the scar tissue, really for the rest of your lives, so you'd better man up and let it go."

Geordie teared up again and Gibbs took him back into his arms. "Listen to me, you're alive, you both fought through hell to survive and look at everything you four have accomplished. You focus on that, not on the one thing neither of you could fix."

Geordie sat down finally and took several deep breaths. Gibbs sat next to him, "If you can't let it go, I know someone who can help you. She's helped me and most of the rest of the team. Yes, including Tim."

Geordie nodded. Finally he felt he could talk again, "I told Tim earlier today that I want to stay home or closer to home. I'm going to transfer out of SPF."

Gibbs grinned, "That's wonderful, glad to hear it. I know Sarah and Rob are going to be happy too."

"Yep, hope so. I just… I set out to make my dad proud and I'm sure he is…wherever he is. Now it's time to do what I want to do. And that is to be closer to my family."

"How long till you have your twenty?"

"Eight years, maybe less. If I can get a post around here, I'll stay in. If not I figure I'll join the reserves, get my years in."

"That's what I did. I had a medical discharge but was rated for the reserves, only had a couple years to go, so got them in." Gibbs paused; there was something else he wanted to ask Geordie. "You knew Ellen Brill."

"Not well, she didn't like us much, but yeah."

"Could you give me a description of her?"

"You're joking, right Gunny? You're not going to try and find the woman? She did Rob more harm than good, except for giving birth to him."

"Have a theory."

"And?"

"Can't share yet."

"Does Tim kn…" Gibbs' head shake finished his question for him. "Well, Rob has her coloring, eyes and hair, as far as I remember, but I don't think she was tall like he's turned out. Hard to tell because I was still a kid; I didn't get my final growth spurt until my last two years in high school and she was long gone by then."

"Think Lu might remember?"

"Maybe, she's a better bet than me."

"Don't mention this to anyone, ok?"

"As long as you let me know eventually, sure."

"You thought about what you want to do after the Corps?"

"Aside from staying in one place for more than a few months? Some, not much." Gibbs raised an eyebrow and Geordie laughed.

"Yeah, you're good. Well, I've thought about working with returning Marines, get them readjusted to life in the States, I'll let you know more about that once I've been through it myself. Thought about going back to school, getting another degree. Discovered I love history, don't know what I'd do with it though. Before my mom died and my dad dove into a bottle, I used to love to take photos, wouldn't mind something along that line. Sarah and I were talking earlier; we're thinking the four of us could write a book about growing up on the streets, from each of our perspectives. That interests me a lot. The other thing is…well, I don't know how you and Tim would feel, but I like what you guys do."

"You want to be a cop or a Federal Agent?"

"A Fed, I like the feel of that. And I really like the idea of supporting the Corps and the Navy."

"You have unique training as Special Forces, discipline, being aware of your surroundings, always double checking, never assuming. Letting the job go when you're done. Those are all traits we use in NCIS. And you sure have the curiosity and the backbone for it."

"You think Tim would mind?" Gibbs looked away and Geordie saw some grief.

"Gunny, what?"

"He…the doctors aren't sure he'll ever be able to return to field duty, Geordie. They're not sure his back muscles will ever return to full strength."

"Does Tim kn…" again Gibbs' head shake told him the answer. "He needs to know."

"Yeah. I just want him to keep believing for as long as possible. He's worked so hard, Geordie, like nobody I've ever seen. He took everything I threw at him, everything _we_ threw at him, absorbed it and came back for more. And he's a hell of an agent, I'm so glad I told him that before we found out about us."

"That's why you brought me home, to help him with his recovery, to be there when he finds out."

"Selfishly, yeah, the more I heard about you, the more I wanted to meet you and then when Tim was hurt, I …he needs you. I know he'll push back but he needs you."

"Tell me you haven't given up on him."

"I haven't but I also want to make sure he has everyone he needs with him. "

"Ok, so my first thing is to take an extended leave so I can be here with him. Dad, he hasn't …hasn't lost function, has he?"

Gibbs looked at him quizzically and then understood the question. "No, son, judging from the smiles on both his and Ziva's face this morning, everything is functioning just fine."

"Ew, in a hospital room, that's just…"

"Don't knock it until you've tried it but I really hope you're never in a hospital as a patient."

"Yeah, ironic, isn't it. I've never been in after all these years with SPF, but this is Timmy's 5th time. "

"Sixth counting Natalie beating the crap out of Patrick and him when Tim was 6 years old."

"_What_?"

"Yep."

"I'd like to find that bitch and …huh?" Geordie wondered why his dad was shaking his head.

"She's history."

"**_What_**_?_"

"Join NCIS and find out, otherwise you'll have to wait a few years, it's classified."

Geordie shook his head, "Wow and I thought _we_ had a lot of secrets!"

"What's your security clearance?" Geordie told him.

"I could talk with Vance about it, but that doesn't include our operations."

"No, no need to do that, I think Rob and Sarah would be pretty upset that I got included and not them. And yeah I know that doesn't make sense."

Gibbs looked at his watch, "I've got to get back; DiNozzo's probably dancing on the desktops by now!"

"He's pretty high energy, right?"

"Mm, in a good way."

"Been kind of cool seeing Tim's perspective of him change over the years. Glad they're friends now."

"Me too; believe me. It was pretty cool seeing it ringside too." They walked back to the nurses' station and handed the key back to the nurse there. She looked at it, "Where'd this come from?"

"A little birdie loaned it to us."

"Uh oh."

"Don't worry, I'm a federal agent, we left the room the same way we found it."

"Ok, thanks…you're Tim's dad right?"

Gibbs' smile lit up the room, "I'm proud to say I am." She turned to Geordie, "And you are?"

"Tim's brother."

"Oh, that's…he has three brothers?" The guys nodded. "You have a great family Mr. Gibbs, congratulations."

"Agent Gibbs and thanks I'm pretty proud of them all!"

They walked back to Tim's room and found Dr. Bwookie in with him. "Well, I wondered if there weren't any Gibbses hiding around the hospital, I think this is the first time I've found Tim alone."

Geordie smiled, "We had some catching up to do." He looked at Tim. "He knows Timmy. It's ok, I told him everything." Tim stared at the wall, but nodded. Geordie walked closer to him and took his hand, getting a squeeze back. Gibbs walked to his other side and laid his hand gently on his son's face.

"Doc, if you had medical records about the scar tissue, would you need any more information than that? "

"No, Gibbs, that's all I really need but Ducky…"

"Doesn't have those particular records, we know who does. It's Doctor Colleen Kelly, in Bayopolis. And I'd like to keep this to just us. It's Tim's decision whether to share with anyone else."

"What about Doctor Mallard?"

"I don't know, that's Tim's decision, as I said and unless you need to know tonight, I don't want to push him."

"Of course, you're right. Timothy, I'm sorry if I've seemed to push on this, I've been so focused on fixing things I didn't think about your feelings." Tim nodded his acceptance of her apology and Gibbs took a good look at him, seeing how tired and…almost frail he looked. He frowned, and then leaning in, gave him a quick kiss. "I'll be right back, kiddo, have to go make a couple of phone calls. Geordie, you going to be here for awhile?"

"Yeah, I'll go home with Sarah tonight when she comes by after work."

"Ok." Gibbs slipped out to the front of the building and first called his boss. "Leon, I'm at the hospital. Tim's having a kind of a rough day; I'd like to stay with him."

At Vance's concerned question, he sighed, "No, he's still progressing physically; I just think the emotional impact is starting to hit him."

Ending the call, he turned to go back into the hospital, only to nearly step on, that is run into Tobias Fornell. "What are you doing here?"

"Came to see how Special Agent McGee is doing." He stopped and sighed, "Jethro…"

"Don't, Tobias, just…don't."

"Is he doing all right, I mean you are here in the middle of the day. "

"He's exhausted; I think we've been crowding him too much."

"Oh, well, I …"

"No, you know what? It might do him some good to see you. He can't talk though, you read sign? "

"Can't talk… sign, do you mean ASL?"

Gibbs nodded and quickly updated Fornell on Tim's medical condition. "Geez, the poor kid. Jethro, someday I…"

Gibbs growled, "If you can't say it now, Fornell, then don't say anything. Don't make any more promises you'll just break."

Fornell winced, then taking a deep breath, pointed inside, asking Gibbs' permission. Gibbs nodded, slowly. "As long as I'm there too. Or Geordie or one of my team. "

"Who's Geordie…oh, the older brother, the one in SPF? He's here?" Gibbs watched him as he nodded and thought Fornell looked a little nervous, or more nervous. Good.

They walked in together and the receptionist who had flirted with Rob the previous night looked up and smiled at Gibbs. "You're here early, Agent Gibbs. Will the rest of them be here later?"

"Yes, McKenna, but Rob won't be here till late, he's got lab after class this afternoon."

"Oh, well, uh, thank you. If I miss him, tell him I said hi?"

"Sure will." Gibbs winked at her and continued on.

"McKenna, Rob? "

"Yeah, Rob, Tim's younger brother and he and pretty McKenna have a little flirt going on. I've been trying to …oh no, Fornell you don't get to know anything more about Tim's family, I don't trust you won't try to stick some other cockamamie charge on him."

Gibbs snapped his mouth shut, angry with himself. He didn't used to be this talkative; he thought he'd better stop before he blurted out everything. Thing was, Fornell used to be his friend, the one he went to, along with Mike, when he had a tough case he couldn't shake off , when one of his kids was hurt or he had a failed relationship, a fight with his dad, when he needed to 'talk'. He shook himself; he needed to concentrate on Tim.

They walked into Tim's room to find both Tim and Geordie sound asleep. Gibbs was relieved; both of these boys needed the rest. Fornell hung around for a few minutes and then turned to leave. Gibbs had been studying him and he admitted to himself that he was a bit worried about the man. He seemed far more troubled than he had ever seen him, far more than even his obvious remorse over the 'inquisition and accusation' warranted. Gibbs watched him leave and then silently followed him, noticing the slow pace and hunched shoulders. He wondered what he'd really wanted and made a mental note to give him a call later. Maybe Tim was right and it was time to start putting things right with his old friend, something was really wrong.

XXX

Tim sat on the bed, trying not to drum his heels into it with impatience. He was finally going home! His physical therapy would continue for some time and he could still only speak in a whisper but he was being discharged from the hospital. Although he was beginning to master communicating in a mixture of ASL and whispering, he couldn't wait for his voice to fully return. However, today the PT, the voice, none of that mattered, he was going home! Going to his own home, sleep in his own bed and with his girl. He grinned, the doctor had given him a little talk about having sex and he'd been happy to tell her she needn't worry, he'd been having sex with Ziva here in the hospital since the week Geordie came home. Yeah, they'd had to be a bit creative, but nothing wrong with that. The doctor had laughed and told him they could resume using the 'missionary' position but should be very cautious about anything else that put any strain on his back.

Tim knew it would be at least three weeks before he was cleared for desk duty, but even that didn't seem so long now, especially since Dr. Bwookie had allowed him a half day "pass" earlier in the week. He'd asked the doctor if he could sit at his desk at home and write; her answer was yes but no sitting for more than two hours at a time. When he gave her his puppy eyes, she conceded to three hours at a time with at least an hour break in between. That he could deal with.

Ducky or Jimmy would be in to check him every day for the first week and Geordie would be driving him to physical therapy every day. Rob and Sarah would be visiting between work and school, his Dad he knew he would see every day and he was counting on Tony to show up for movie and pizza night. Yep, it was all planned out. He sighed again with impatience.

Geordie suddenly appeared in the doorway with a wheelchair. "Betcha thought I cut out on you Timmo!"

Tim shook his head, whispering, "Never Geo!" Smiling, he climbed into the chair and his big brother took him to the nurses' station to say goodbye. Tim smiled and waved at all of the fifth floor medical staff who had gathered to say goodbye. His favorite nurse came forward, "We're going to miss not only you, Tim, but your whole family! Who's going to bring us pastries and drink our coffee?" Tim grinned, already planning on bringing his entire clan back around the holidays. He waved one last time as Geordie backed him into the elevator. "Wow; that was quite the sendoff, Bro."

Tim nodded, "They took good care of me."

"Yeah they did."

Tim looked up at his brother, "You decide yet?"

"Decide…what…I never could hide anything from you, could I?" Tim smirked triumphantly.

"Yeah, I've applied for FLETC; I picked a class that starts in five months. Dad and I figured that's enough time for you to finish PT and be back at work, at least on desk duty."

"That's great, Geordie, can't wait to see you as a newbie! And I'm not settling for desk duty, yeah, I've known all along what the doctors said. I'll be back in the field, Geo, chasing down dirt bags and watching my team's six." Geordie grinned at him as they reached the front lobby.

"Have a little surprise for you." Tim looked up at him, blinking. He'd been caught on this one, made sense it was Geordie who succeeded in hiding something from him.

"Don't look at me, look outside, Bro."

Tim looked out, not seeing anything but the entrance and the parking lot beyond. Geordie continued pushing the wheelchair through the double doors and as they reached the sidewalk, Tony's latest vehicle, a rag top Mustang with the top down pulled up to the curb. Tim's grin grew still it nearly split his face as Rob jumped out of the front seat.

"Hey Timpa, we are your ride today."

"That grin's starting to look painful, Probie!"

Tim looked at them and at Geordie. Geordie just shook his head, helped him out of the wheelchair and into the front seat, then laughing, jumped in the back next to Rob.

"Wanted to give you a proper ride home, Timmo, with the coolest of the cool. Who else would that be but your brothers?"

Tim laughed softly as they drove off, his hair blowing in the breeze.

_ "A band of brothers true we swear to be,  
Never to part in danger or in death!"_

_"From this day to the ending of the world,  
But we in it shall be remembered-  
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."_

THE END

* * *

_First Quote is from Schiller's Play "Wilhelm Tell"; second is the well known phrase from Shakespeare's Henry V._

Some of the information about the reserves and pensions came from: .gov/retirement/reserve

I'll start posting the next story in the At What Price series in a couple of days. We'll explore what caused Fornell to go on the attack against Tim and learn more about the family.


End file.
